Its Been So Long That You Forget
by xFauxdilocksx
Summary: When Brooke tells her to move out, Peyton returns to LA, but before she goes, their friendship changes forever. Flashforward, and Peyton has to return to Tree Hill, and face Brooke for the first time in 6 years... Breyton. Brooke/Peyton. Read and Review.
1. Prologue

**A/N: This idea came to me from a mixture of watching a rerun of 5x13 where Brooke has her initial adoption interview, and listening to Remind Me by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley.**

**Although I have changed the interview to suit this story…**

**Obviously, I do not own One Tree Hill, or any of the characters (sigh). But like I always say: If I did, Breyton would have totally had a big sexy lesbian love affair…yum!**

**Peyton leaving is my plot bunny right now...but this story will bear no other similarities to WDIYB other than that :) **

**Alistair and Katie from WDIYB will be my OC's in this story too, because I kinda love them :)**

* * *

**Its Been So Long That You Forget...**

**Prologue…**

Brooke Davis sat opposite an adoption agency representative at the breakfast bar in her kitchen.

She had recently looked into adopting a child and today was her interview, and she was presently surprised that it was going well.

Although she was single, the agency representative could see that she was financially stable enough, and most importantly, caring enough, to give a child a happy home.

Her references had checked out, she was fit and healthy, and the last step she had to get though was the interview.

Although she had a feeling she was doing well.

"So, you said your friend is living with you at the moment?" Patricia, the agency representative, asked, wondering who Peyton was, and why she was living there.

"Yes. Peyton. The boy she loves almost married someone else, she's down her luck, and she's kind of hit the bottle." Brooke said, letting the comment slip about the blondes drinking before she had really thought about it.

Patricia's face dropped, and Brooke instant kicked herself for saying something that stupid that could potentially ruin her chances of adoption.

"She's not, like, drunk all the time or anything, she's…" Brooke tried to resolve the slip up, but Patricia interrupted her before she could finish.

There was no way she could take that one back.

"Miss Davis, I am considering recommending you for adoption, but you have to ask your friend to move out or I can't take this further. It's too much of a risk." Patricia explained.

"She's not a risk, honestly, she's amazing with kids, she's just having a hard time at the moment…" Brooke tried again.

"I'm sorry Miss Davis, while your friend is here I cannot recommend you."

"If I ask her to move out, will you recommend me?" Brooke asked.

"Based on the rest of the interview, yes I will, I am very impressed with you. But you're friend has to leave before you are given a child." Patricia explained.

"How long does it take to be given a child…?" Brooke enquired.

"I'm unsure, the birth mother chooses you, it could happen within a few weeks, or it could take months, maybe even a year. But, I do recommend that you ask your friend to move out as soon as possible, it will just make things easier."

"Okay, I can ask her to move out, that is not a problem." Brooke conceded. She really wanted a baby…and she and Peyton had begun to drift apart anyway.

Since Lucas' first game, and the night they were stuck in the library, she and Peyton had been pulling further apart, and it was all because of Brooke's friendship with Lindsay, Lucas' now ex-fiancée.

Brooke had been spending increasing amounts of time with the girl because she was making her wedding dress, then it turned into coffee dates, and drinks at Tric, with Haley there as well, while Peyton was left at home, isolated and alone.

Lindsay didn't like Peyton, and Haley seemed to be following her lead.

So Peyton decided not to let herself be isolated. She began to spend her nights sitting in her office drinking wine with Mia, or going to the bar if it was Chase who was tending as he wouldn't ask Mia for ID.

And over the months, the divide between them got bigger and bigger.

Lindsay moved away after her failed wedding, and Mia was now on tour, but Brooke was always at Haley's and Peyton stayed at her office as late as possible.

Now, the two girls chatted for a few minutes at night when they both got home, and that was as far as their once close friendship went.

They didn't even meet for the occasional lunch anymore.

They didn't even text.

They were fading.

Patricia, the adoption agency representative, finalised everything, and told Brooke she would recommend her for adoption.

"Thank-you so much, you've made a great decision," Brooke smiled happily, shaking Patricia's hand.

"I really think that I have." Patricia started, shaking her hand and smiling back. "We'll be in touch."

And with that, Patricia left, and Brooke started dancing and screaming with excitement.

She was going to be a Mommy.

. . .

Peyton returned home from the office to find Brooke sitting on the couch with a thoughtful look on her face.

"Hey," She murmured to Brooke, dropping her purse by the door, and Brooke murmured a 'Hey' back to her.

Peyton looked at her, knowing there was something wrong.

"So, how did the interview go?" Peyton asked, her tone hopeful. She really wanted the interview to go well for her.

Brooke looked at her and sighed sadly.

Peyton was the only one who had asked her how it went. She hadn't heard from Haley, and Lucas had disappeared somewhere to grieve for his marriage.

She assumed they'd forgotten.

But Peyton had remembered, and it was making her feel worse that she had to ask her to leave.

"It went great, they're recommending me, Peyton." Brooke said, her smile reaching her eyes, but her tone of voice contradicting the look on her face.

"Brooke, that's great!" Peyton said, extremely happy for her friend, but she picked up on Brooke's sad tone. "What's troubling you, I can tell from that voice of yours that there's something on your mind." Peyton said, sitting down on the couch next to Brooke, putting her arm around her.

Brooke looked at Peyton and sighed.

"Look, Peyton, um…" Brooke started.

Peyton was looking at her with concern, and care, and for the first time in months, Brooke felt like she and Peyton were close again..

So she couldn't do it.

She couldn't ask her to leave.

It was too hard.

So she lied.

"It's nothing, I was just worried that I won't be a good mom. But I know I will be, I have Haley to help me." Brooke smiled, and Peyton bought it.

"And me." Peyton winked, then she got up and went into her bedroom.

Brooke slumped against the couch and sighed.

This was going to be harder than she anticipated.

. . .

Two weeks passed, and Brooke and Peyton didn't get any closer, in fact, things just seemed to get worse.

Brooke was now spending the majority of her time at Haley's in an effort to avoid Peyton, as she knew she had to ask her to leave and she just couldn't do it. So avoiding her seemed like the best option.

Peyton felt like Brooke just didn't want to spend time with her anymore, and she felt like a burden. So she stayed at her office until well past midnight, and only went home to shower and sleep, making sure Brooke only saw her for a minimal amount of time.

In two weeks, she'd only saw Brooke six times.

In their efforts to avoid each other, their paths were now only very rarely crossing.

And being as stubborn as each other, neither of them were willing to do anything to fix it.

Brooke was in her office when her phone rang, showing a number she didn't recognise.

When she answered, it was the adoption agency.

The woman on the phone told her that they had a baby who was in the US for heart surgery. The baby would be in the country for three months, have the heart surgery, then go back to her parents in her own country when she was better.

And the agency wanted Brooke to care for the baby during those three months.

It was her trial run.

Brooke was ecstatic, it was her big chance, but she panicked when they woman on the phone asked her about Peyton.

"_Has your friend moved out yet?" _

Not wanting to miss an opportunity, Brooke lied.

"Yes, yes she has."

The woman told her the baby, who's name was Angie, would be in the US in two weeks.

. . .

As was her routine for the past two weeks, Peyton returned home from her office after midnight.

She walked into the house where she saw Brooke sitting on the couch looking unhappy.

Brooke had to tell Peyton that night that she had to leave, and the longer she waited for her to come home, the more anxious, and subsequently, angry, she got.

"I've been waiting up for you." Brooke snapped, and Peyton glared at her in annoyance.

"Oh, for the first time in god knows how long. Haley busy tonight?" Peyton spat at her sarcastically.

"Oh bite me, Peyton!" Brooke snapped again, in reference to Peyton's sarcastic comment.

"So I come home from work and you just decide to bitch me out when I've hardly saw you in weeks? Thanks Brooke, you're a great best friend." Peyton said bitterly, walking towards her bedroom, but Brooke stopped her before she could go in.

"I'm a bad best friend, huh? Say's the girl who's been living in my house rent free…" Brooke murmured snarkily, but Peyton heard what she said.

"Brooke, what is your problem? You avoid me like the plague, and now you're bitching me out for nothing. What the hell man?!" Peyton said, her voice pained.

Brooke sent a cold look her way, then turned around again.

"No, you know what, Brooke, I've felt like a burden to you these past few weeks, and now you're treating me like this, and I really don't understand why!" Peyton yelled, walking around to where Brooke was sitting.

Upon hearing Peyton's tone, Brooke jumped up, and before she really registered what she was saying, she was telling Peyton exactly what the problem was.

But in response to Peyton's tone, and her own shit mood, she told her in the completely wrong way.

"Peyton, you have to leave!" She yelled quickly, and Peyton's heart dropped into the pit of her stomach.

Brooke turned around so she didn't have to see the blondes pained face.

"What?" Peyton asked, her voice wavering.

Brooke kept a cold exterior.

"You have to move out, I've wanted to tell you for two weeks." Brooke started.

"Brooke…" Peyton whispered, quietly.

Brooke could tell, even with her back tuned, that Peyton was crying, but she couldn't bring herself to turn around.

She had to keep her composure.

She had to finish what she started.

"The adoption agency called today, their giving me a baby to take care of three months. You have to go." Brooke told her, her voice still cold.

Peyton didn't know what to do or what to say. This was Brooke's house, so she couldn't argue.

She simply nodded her head, even though she knew that Brooke couldn't see her, then she went to her room.

"You have two weeks to find somewhere else to go."

. . .

12 days passed as quick as lighting, and Peyton had hardly saw, let alone spoken, to Brooke.

She was embarrassed by what had transpired and she continued to spend all of her time at her office, sometimes even sleeping there and going home to shower and change when Brooke had gone to the store, because she simply couldn't face her.

Last night had been one of those nights.

Expecting Brooke to be at the store, Peyton opened the door to their house hoping to get showered, changed, and out of there again, in minimal time.

But she found Brooke sitting on the floor assembling a baby gym.

Fuck!

Brooke looked up, surprised to see Peyton in the doorway. She hadn't seen her in over a week.

"I thought you'd be out." Peyton whispered quietly.

"Well I'm not." Brooke told her, her tone short.

Peyton couldn't understand why she was being so cold, she couldn't think of anything she had done that could have upset her.

Peyton lingered for a little while, but when Brooke said nothing more, she went to get showered and changed.

45 minutes later, Peyton was clean and fresh. She rushed, not wanting to be in Brooke's hair for too long, it was too uncomfortable.

She was walking out the front door when Brooke's voice stopped her.

"Have you found a place yet?"

Peyton turned to look at her, and shook her head 'no'.

Brooke sighed with annoyance.

"Well you have two days."

Peyton's heart sank, and she nodded her head sadly.

The truth was, she'd been trying to find a place, but she didn't have a lot of money and the only places she could afford were on the outskirts of Tree Hill in very bad areas, areas no one wanted to live in if they could avoid it.

In any other circumstance, she would have asked Brooke for financial help, but this time, she felt like she couldn't. She felt too humiliated, and she didn't want to give Brooke any more of her pride and dignity.

And judging by Brooke's tone, she could tell that the brunette just wanted her out, no matter where she went.

And it was starting to look like a bad neighbourhood was her only option.

She glanced at Brooke one more time, then she walked out of the house, slamming the door behind her.

Back at her office, Peyton was scanning through real estate websites again, looking at the apartments she could afford.

The neighbourhoods were horrible, and the apartments were in need of some serious maintenance.

Her dad was in the process of selling his house and relocating to South Carolina, so there was no point in moving in with him only to be back to square one in a few weeks' time.

And she couldn't ask him for money, he had his own new house to pay for.

She just couldn't imagine living in those places, they were horrible.

Why did Tree Hill have to be so damn expensive!

She was broken from her thoughts by her phone vibrating.

'_One New Message-Alistair: Hey princess, I miss your face…just saying.'_

Peyton smiled big; her best gay friend knew how to cheer her up every time, even from the other side of the country.

And that's when she realised she wasn't completely out of options.

. . .

Slamming the front door behind her, Peyton walked into the house, startling Brooke by her presence.

It was 9pm now, and Peyton figured she could spend the night packing. Brooke would go the store in the morning, and she was leaving for her flight at 5pm, so she would only have minimal contact with the brunette.

She ignored Brooke, who was sitting at the breakfast bar, and she ran up the stairs, making Brooke furrow her brows in confusion.

But her confusion dissipated when Peyton walked back down the stairs holding two large suitcases.

"You've found somewhere to go?" Brooke asked, her voice almost carrying an air of sadness.

Seeing Peyton with suitcases had somehow made the situation very real.

"L.A. My flight leaves tomorrow at six, I'll finally be out of your hair." Peyton said flatly, walking into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

Brooke sat for five minutes thinking about Peyton going to L.A.

Peyton gone from her life completely? She just couldn't comprehend it.

Nor did she realise that it was her own doing.

She got up, and stormed into Peyton's room, where the blonde was packing the contents of her wardrobe.

"You're going to L.A, just like that?" Brooke asked sadly, and also a little bit hurt for reasons she didn't quite understand.

"I had nowhere else to go." Peyton said simply, carefully folding dresses and putting them into a suitcase.

"You won't be around anymore." Brooke said, her voice faltering.

She really never thought that she'd go so far.

She thought that Peyton would stay in Tree Hill and that their friendship would eventually resolve itself.

It always did.

But this was different, it was so final.

"Well you know what Brooke, what the hell does it matter?!" Peyton yelled, pissed off with her sudden change in attitude. She'd been so cold for weeks, and now it seemed like she was trying to guilt trip her. "How will my absence affect you when you don't even want me around anyway?!"

Brooke took a sharp intake of breath, Peyton's words knocking the wind out of her.

"Is that what you think?" Brooke started sadly, but getting increasingly angry. "You really think that? We've been best friends for 14 years Peyton, and that's what you think of me? How dare you!"

"You've shunned me for months Brooke, you've been so fucking cold, and I'm the asshole for calling you on it?" Peyton asked incredulously.

"You of all people should know I would never do that, to _anyone_, let alone you. I gave you everything when we came back here. And look at that, you run away back to L.A when things get hard!" Brooke argued back.

"Run away? You kicked me out Brooke, without so much as an explanation. I have no other option!"

"It's called renting a place in Tree Hill Peyton, they're the same as the ones in L.A you know!" Brooke snapped sarcastically.

Tears sprung to Peyton's eyes. She could tell Brooke the reason why she couldn't rent in Tree Hill, and that in L.A she would be staying with Alistair until she got settled.

But she wouldn't, she couldn't give the brunette the last of her dignity.

So she stayed silent and continued to pack her clothes.

"Nothing to say?" Brooke asked, folding her arms, obviously trying to provoke an argument.

She watched the blondes resolve slowly break, but she wasn't expecting her to break down in tears.

And then she panicked.

She didn't want that to happen.

She didn't want any of this happen.

She wanted to be able to adopt a child and let Peyton stay at the same time, but she couldn't. So she wanted to stay friends with Peyton, but she'd fucked that up too.

And she only had herself to blame.

"Peyton, what's wrong?" She asked, rushing over to her.

"You don't know, Brooke. You don't know the half of it!" She cried.

"Peyton, what's going on?" She asked, concerned, trying to soothe her, but Peyton turned away from her completely, not wanting to look at Brooke as she told her why she couldn't stay in Tree Hill.

"I can't afford it, Brooke, okay! I don't have enough money to live here. I saved up the start-up money that I repaid you. I'm not making enough money to rent a decent place yet, all I can afford are places in really bad neighbourhoods on the outskirts of town!" She explained, crying, and Brooke felt absolutely terrible.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Brooke asked sadly.

"Why didn't I tell you?! Because you were being a cold ass bitch, Brooke, that's why!" Peyton yelled, still not looking at her.

"You know you can always come to me about anything." Brooke said sadly again, taking Peyton's hand, trying to turn her around.

"No…" Peyton started, trying to move away from Brooke.

But the brunette pulled her back, and she crashed flush into Brooke's body.

Peyton began to shake her head, feeling weak in Brooke's embrace, not wanting the brunette to see the tears in her eyes.

"Let me go Brooke, please." She pleaded, quietly.

Brooke looked at her, and she felt a rush of emotions she'd never experienced with Peyton before.

She noticed that every contour of Peyton's face was beautiful and flawless, and it was making her feel like there was little baby butterflies finding their wings inside her stomach.

And as she looked into the blondes glassy, teary, eyes, she felt like she was seeing into her soul. She'd never experienced that with _anyone_ before, let alone her own best friend, and it was making those baby butterflies in her stomach turn into fully grown adult ones.

She didn't know what had come over her, and it wasn't about to become any clearer.

"No."

She threw an arm around Peyton's waist and tightened her hold on her, fusing their lips together at the same time.

Peyton froze to her spot, startled by Brooke's movements. But then she realised that Brooke's lips felt soft, and nice, against her own, and she melted into the kiss.

Brooke's other hand slid around Peyton's waist until she was enclosed by her arms, and Peyton wrapped her arms around Brooke's neck.

Brooke took Peyton's movements as a good sign, and deepened the kiss, her tongue sliding along Peyton's bottom lip, silently asking for entrance.

Peyton opened her mouth, and Brooke's tongue met hers for the first time in their whole lives.

The kissed passionately, but gently, and they soon became lost in their kiss, until Brooke moaned, startling them both.

But it didn't ruin the moment, it simply gave Brooke enough comprehension to push Peyton onto the bed.

Peyton moved into the middle of the bed and laid her head on the pillows for comfort, and Brooke climbed on top of her, claiming her lips again in a rough kiss.

It felt so right to them it incomprehensible.

As they kissed, clothes gradually disappeared, until they were naked and completely vulnerable to each other.

Everything was a blur, they didn't know why they were doing this, or what would happen later, all they knew was that they weren't about to stop.

"Oh P Sawyer, you are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." Brooke breathed against her lips, her hands roaming her body as she lay on top of her.

Peyton pulled Brooke's head down and attached their lips again, their tongues meeting instantly, as she reached up and gently caressed Brooke's ample breasts.

Their kiss became heated as they explored the others body with their hands.

Brooke's hands travelled the length of Peyton's body until her fingers were rubbing delicious strokes on her swollen clit.

Peyton moaned, her breathing heavy, as her hands rubbed torturous circles on the inside of Brooke's thighs.

"Oh, baby..." Brooke breathed, needing more of Peyton.

So Peyton gave her what she wanted.

She let her hand travel between Brooke legs, and she slid her fingers inside of her.

Feeling Peyton's fingers inside of her was the most wonderful, right, thing she'd ever felt, and without thinking, she said the thing that would be the final nail in the coffin of their friendship.

"Oh my God. I love you, Peyton."

. . .

Peyton woke up the next morning feeling happier than she had in the past few months.

Last night had been amazing; making love to Brooke, Brooke making love to her, pleasuring each other until deep into the night.

It had to have changed things.

Brooke would surely want her to stay now, she had too, last night meant to much.

She rolled over, searching for the warmth of Brooke's body, but she was disappointed when all she could feel was a cold, empty, bed.

She got up and pulled on her robe, tying it as she walked out into the living room.

She called out for Brooke, but received no answer.

She searched the house, to find that she was gone.

She tried her cell phone, but it was off.

Hoping she'd gone out for breakfast, she waited for an hour, but she never came back.

Knowing Brooke had work to do, Peyton busied herself with packing for LA…just in case, and her day passed quickly.

It was 4pm by the time she'd packed everything, and she had to leave at five.

She sat down with a cup of coffee, hoping that Brooke would come back before she left, hoping that she would come back and ask her to stay.

But as they time ticked by, her hope started to die.

Brooke knew her flight was at six, she knew she had to leave an hour before.

Hoping Brooke had lost track of time, she decided to wait another fifteen minutes then rush for her flight…if she had to.

Fifteen minutes passed, and Brooke never came back.

And Peyton realised that she wasn't going to.

She'd walked out on her.

Refusing to let Brooke Davis make her weak, she swallowed her tears, and called a taxi to take her to the airport.

Then she put her house key and her office keys on the counter, picked up her purse and her suitcases, and left the house, leaving Brooke Davis and Tree Hill far behind her.

. . .

Brooke was sitting at her desk in the back room of Clothes over Bro's, attempting to sketch new designs, the clock on the wall ticking loudly behind her.

She couldn't get Peyton out of her head.

She knew she shouldn't have left her in bed, without a note, or any kind of explanation.

But she panicked and didn't know what to do.

She wasn't gay, she wasn't.

She'd never saw Peyton like that, ever. She didn't know what last night was.

And she wanted a baby.

But Peyton wouldn't leave her mind.

Her soft lips, the feel of her soft skin and the contours of her slender body, the heat and warmth of her sex, the way her mouth opened and her head fell back as she came.

She was beautiful, and amazing, and anyone, male or female, would be crazy to let her go.

But that's what she was doing; letting her go.

But as quick as that thought entered her mind, a second one replaced it.

She couldn't let her go!

She would be crazy!

And with that, she grabbed her purse, and ran out of Clothes over Bro's, locking the door behind her.

She knew Peyton's flight was at six, and it was already 5:15pm, Peyton could have already left, but Brooke was holding out hope that she hadn't.

She drove as fast as she could, hoping Peyton was still at the house, and her heart raced when she saw the Comet still parked in the drive.

She burst through the door, calling out Peyton's name, but she received no reply.

Then she noticed the keys that Peyton had left on the counter.

She'd already left.

Brooke checked the time. It was 5:25pm now.

She had half an hour to get to the airport, and maybe, hopefully, Peyton's flight had been delayed.

Maybe God, and all of the highest powers, would be on her side.

She drove like a maniac, hoping there was no police on the road or she would have definitely gotten arrested.

She got to the airport at 5:50pm, and she ran through the halls hoping she wasn't too late.

"Ma'am, you can't go through there without a ticket." She was stopped by an airline representative as she tried to run through check in, and into the departure lounge.

"Please, I have to stop someone from leaving." She pleaded.

"I'm sorry, not without a ticket."

"Okay, one ticket to anywhere that will get me through that gate." Brooke said, throwing her credit card at the man.

Time was ticking by faster than it should. It was 5:56pm now.

"Come on, come on, come on." She murmured as she impatiently waited.

At 5:58pm the man issued her with a ticket and she ran into the departure lounge, hoping by some miracle that Peyton's flight would be delayed.

She looked around, looking for the gate Peyton's flight was leaving from.

"Gate 10." She murmured to herself, looking at her watch.

5:59pm.

"Please be delayed…" She murmured to herself again, as she began to run to Gate 10.

But as she got there, she realised it was empty, and as she turned to look out of the window, she saw the airplane speed off along the run way and up into the sky.

She was too late.

She fell against the wall, and slid down to the floor, tears taking over her.

Peyton was gone...

* * *

**Next chapter picks up 6 years later…**

**Should I continue?**

**Reviews keep me motivated…**


	2. 6 Years Later

6 years later…

"I've cancelled your conference calls for today like you asked, you have a recording session with Alex Dupre at ten, and Mrs James Scott faxed over the numbers from North Carolina." Jess, Peyton's assistant said, handing Peyton some papers, as she followed her through the Red Bedroom Records offices. "And here's your Latte, heated to one hundred the way you like it."

"Thank-you, Jess. Copy and File these for me would you, then you can take a half day." Peyton smiled, handing the younger woman a pile of folders. "You two, my office, now." She finished, pointing to Alistair and Katie, her V.P's, before walking into her office, Alistair and Katie following behind her.

She sat down at her desk and looked around.

After five years, she still wasn't used to this; being the president of a huge record label, with a huge office with floor to ceiling windows and a panoramic view of LA.

When Peyton moved to LA, she continued to run Red Bedroom Records from an office John Knight set up in the Sire Record's building when he agreed to distribute Red Bedroom artists for a percentage of the profit.

When Peyton had been there for a year, John Knight was fired after being caught harassing and propositioning female staff members, and in a bizarre method of appointing a new label president, the decision was left to the staff at Sire Records.

And knowing that she could run a label that was about the music and not the money, they unanimously chose Peyton.

Well most did…John Knights cronies didn't of course.

But Peyton got great enjoyment out of walking into the office every day to see his cronies sitting at their desks in their Assistant to the Assistant roles, hating their lives, after she demoted them.

Especially Miranda Stone…

God, she hated her.

But, Peyton got to change the name of the company from Sire Records to Red Bedroom Records, and she promoted her two best friends, Alistair Clarke, and Katie Karraway, to Vice Presidents of the label.

Her life was pretty sweet.

She still had the small office in Tree Hill, which she'd left in the careful hands of Haley.

When she left, she sent Haley an email to let her know she was gone and that she wanted her to run the Tree Hill office while she set up in LA.

And when Peyton gained control of Sire Records, now Red Bedroom, she ultimately promoted Haley to Vice President working out of the Tree Hill office.

For the first three years that Peyton was in LA however, she communicated with Haley through email and it was strictly business related, and when Haley came to LA for meetings after Peyton became label president, Peyton would take a vacation.

But Haley felt terrible for not being a better friend to Peyton when she left Tree Hill, and she felt like she owed Peyton a lot for getting her back into music, so she persevered with trying to talk to her, emailing her to see how she was, even when she didn't get a reply, and asking Alistair and Katie how she was when she talked to them, and she eventually wore Peyton down.

And after three years of hiding from her, Peyton finally met with Haley when she was in LA for a meeting.

They weren't best friends as such, but whenever Haley came to LA for meetings, Peyton made an effort to see her, and that was something.

One thing that Peyton would never do though, was return to Tree Hill.

And Haley didn't know why.

Well she did, she knew it was something to do with Brooke, but she didn't know exactly what.

Yes, Peyton had a huge house, a fancy car, money, and good friends like Alistair and Katie, but Haley knew that none of those things ever really mattered to Peyton…not as much as Tree Hill, and Brooke, did.

But there was a long standing feud between Brooke and Peyton, that Haley couldn't understand, that was obviously keeping Peyton away.

And it killed Haley because everyone else back in Tree Hill cared about Peyton; they were sorry for the role they played in her departure, and Peyton knew that. So Haley could only think of one reason why the feud between her two friends started.

Not long after Peyton moved to LA she came out as gay.

At first, Haley didn't know, and when Peyton was made label president, Alistair and Katie were given strict orders not to tell her, but Katie accidently let it slip during one of Haley's business trips after she and Haley struck up a strong friendship which still stood today.

Peyton didn't go as crazy as Katie thought she would though. She simply shrugged, and said 'What does it matter, anyway?'

Haley had a feeling that years before, Peyton had come out to Brooke, and Brooke didn't take it very well, causing Peyton to feel uncomfortable and ultimately leave.

It would make sense as to why Peyton asked about everyone else back in Tree Hill except Brooke.

As everyone else in Tree Hill asked about Peyton, Haley told them she'd came out as gay, so by default Brooke knew. But when she found out, she walked out of the room and acted strange for the rest of the night, which further cemented Haley's belief that she already knew.

But as no one in LA knew Brooke, and Peyton never asked about her or spoke of her, Haley never revealed anything about Brooke's life. She couldn't just say it out of the blue, and she didn't want to risk the friendship she'd managed to build up with Peyton again.

So Peyton didn't know that Brooke was a mother to a five year old girl…

* * *

"Okay Munchkin, have a good day. I'll be here to pick you up at three." Brooke said, kissing her little girl on the head, before the little girl jumped out of the car and ran into school, looking back to wave at her Mom as she did so.

Brooke adopted the little girl straight from birth.

The little girl's birth Mother, whose name was Christina, had intended to keep her, but when she was three months pregnant she found out she had a form of lymphoma that had a very small survival rate, and if she carried the baby her body wouldn't be able to take it and she would most likely die after child birth.

It was recommended that she had an abortion, but she instead chose to have the baby and put her up for adoption, thus sacrificing her own life for her child's.

And she went through the adoption agency that Brooke was registered with.

The little girl's birth mother was Italian, and was raised by a single mother with no other family, but she had the happiest childhood a person could wish for. She moved to America from Italy when her mother was killed in an unfortunate car accident.

So when it came to choosing a mother for her baby, she decided that she wanted her to be raised by a single mother, just like she was.

So she chose Brooke.

The little girl was born completely healthy, and she'd inherited her mother's lightly tanned skin tone and hazel/green mixed eye colour.

Which also made her look slightly like Brooke too, as they were Characteristics that Brooke also possessed.

One thing that struck Brooke though, was that the little girl's hair was a tuft of blonde curls, which the little girl's birth mother told her came from the baby's biological father, who was a one night stand who's name and phone number she didn't get.

The little girl would never know who her biological father was, but Brooke was strangely okay with that.

When the little girl was born, Brooke let her birth mother name her. She chose the name Ivy.

And because of those little blonde curls, Brooke give her the middle name Sawyer.

Ivy Sawyer Davis.

Although the baby wasn't related to Peyton in any way, those blonde curls made her feel like a part of Peyton was back with her again.

Because she missed Peyton and loved Peyton more and more every day.

The day after Peyton left, Brooke got baby Angie to care for, then only days after Angie went home, she found out about Ivy's birth mother, and as more and more time passed, the less she felt like she could go after Peyton.

Ivy's birth mother died when Ivy was three months old, albeit longer than the doctors thought she had, and Brooke paid for the best funeral money could buy.

After all, she'd given her the best gift she could ever ask for.

Ivy was five years old now, and Brooke now owned and ran Karen's Café after giving her clothing line up to her mother, who ultimately ran it into the ground.

On the outside, Brooke seemed to have it made; a successful local business and a happy little girl, but all of her friends had come to notice years earlier that she'd only been a shadow of herself since a certain blonde left town.

Brooke didn't have the same fire she once had.

When Peyton left, she threw herself into being a Mother, and it's a role she'd kept up ever since. She was a great mother, and little Ivy was the happiest little girl in Tree Hill, but there's more to life than being a parent, and Brooke had seemed to forget that.

She hadn't had one single date in six years.

She was Mommy Brooke, she no longer had that fiery zest for life that she once had.

Which confused Haley even more as to why she never asked how Peyton was or even spoke of her. It also threw a spanner in the works with her 'Brooke couldn't accept that Peyton was gay theory'.

Why had Peyton's departure affected her so badly?

Did she now feel bad about her behaviour and wished she could take it back?

Well, Haley was half right.

Ivy's middle name and the fact that Brooke had only driven in the Comet since Peyton's departure, which the blonde had left in Tree Hill, only fuelled Haley's confusion more.

Haley, and the rest of the gang, wished that they knew what happened between the blonde and the brunette six years earlier, but Brooke simply wouldn't tell them.

She was so adamant not to tell them that it had now become an off limits topic of conversation.

But they couldn't help but wonder when Brooke would not speak of Peyton, but would drive around in Peyton's Comet, with her curly headed kid who's middle name was Sawyer, who she dressed in converse and little One Direction band tees.

To say it was curious would be an understatement.

And asking Peyton would just be a straight up no-no!

* * *

"So, we have a problem Peyt…" Katie said as she sat down on a chair in Peyton's office, Alistair beside her.

"What's up…" Peyton asked worriedly.

Alistair was more play than he was work, and Peyton loved that when she could go out gay clubbing with him on random week nights, but in the office she didn't love it so much.

Katie was her worker, and looking at Katie's face in that moment, she knew something was really wrong.

"Did you get the numbers Haley faxed through this morning?" Katie asked.

"Yeah, I got them right here." Peyton said, holding up the pile of papers her assistant had handed her.

It was that time of year to look over all of the money, and accounts, and all of that mumble-jumble, but Peyton liked to have paper copies of everything to look over as well as relying on a computer.

But Haley sent copies to Katie as well; she was Peyton's right hand man after all.

"I guess you haven't looked over them then yet, huh?"

"Katie what's going on?" Peyton asked, getting even more worried.

"The Tree Hill office is running at a loss, a big loss…." Katie explained.

Peyton looked over the papers in her hand and her face fell.

Running at a loss was an understatement…it was basically haemorrhaging.

What they didn't realise was that Haley was so busy with Jamie, and her three year old daughter Lydia, and keeping up her teaching job, that she'd let the Tree Hill office slip under her radar while Mia was out on tour.

"Katie you have to call Haley and find out what the hell happened, while I try to figure this out," Peyton said. "You, can help me." She finished, pointing at Alistair.

Yes, the gay man was a party animal, but he also happened to be like a human calculator.

Half an hour later, Katie was back in the office, and Peyton had come up with solution.

"We have to fix those numbers or we'll have to shut the office down." She sighed, sitting back on her chair.

"But you won't go back to Tree Hill…" Alistair pointed out.

He and Katie knew all about what happened between Peyton and Brooke, but Katie hadn't let that slip; she knew not to, it was_ far_ too important to Peyton.

She'd told them one night when they were out clubbing and a girl who Peyton had been seeing went off on her because she wouldn't commit to a relationship.

Peyton got pissed off and went home, and Alistair and Katie followed her, and found her in her living room crying.

She explained to them that the reason she couldn't ever commit to a relationship with any of the girls she'd met in LA was because there was someone else in her heart, stopping her from being able to love anyone else.

She then told them all about Brooke, and how she was in love with her even after what she did, and how much time had passed.

And her feelings for Brooke were still there, six years later, as strong as ever.

She was glad she told them though, because she still missed and loved Brooke more and more every day, and it was good to have them to talk to whenever she was feeling bad.

It didn't happen often though, because she'd thrown herself into work. But there was a couple of occasions where she and Alistair and Katie were having a few drinks and Peyton became drunk and weepy.

She'd never admit that though.

"I know, that's why you two will." Peyton smirked in their direction. "I don't like the place, but I won't let the Tree Hill office go under, not under any circumstances…"

"Oh but you'll send us…" Alistair glared.

"Do you know how many people I have out there who'd kill for your job…" She smirked at him, and he made a sarcastic face and stuck his tongue out.

"You love me too much to give my job away."

"True… but you're still going to Tree Hill."

"You suck, Sawyer."

Alistair and Peyton had a great relationship and they totally bounced off of each other, their sarcasm making people think they had a love/hate relationship when really they just loved each other to death.

Their sarcasm made for some great arguments between the two though.

"That's settled then, you two will go to Tree Hill and save the day…and there might be a pretty little pay bonus in there for your hard work."

"Awesome, it'll actually be nice to see Haley." Katie smiled.

But Peyton was more concerned about how Alistair and Katie would react when they met Brooke, given that they knew their history…

* * *

**Reviews keep me motivated…**


	3. Secrets Come Out

**A/N: Two apologies guys, 1- Lack of updates, I was super busy, then I was on holiday in Amsterdam. 2- Not much Peyton in this chapter, there will be next chapter though.**

* * *

"Yeah, so…they probably eat their young in this creepy little place." Alistair commented, looking through the window of the rental car, as he and Katie drove through the streets Tree Hill.

"I think it's pretty." Katie smiled, keeping her eyes on the road ahead of her.

"Why? It's small, and rural, and I'm not used to this, I'm from LA!"

"Dude, I'm from New York!"

"Peyton loved this place at one point, remember?" Alistair began, sighing. "Even after everything that happened to her when she was growing up, she loved it. Then some bitch ruined it, and now she won't even consider coming back. It's sad, you know."

Katie sighed, then turned to give Alistair a quick look before turning back to the road again.

"She's going to be here, you know; Brooke." Katie said, to which Alistair sighed. "We don't know her story."

"We don't know her story! Kate, are you kidding me! She broke Peyton!" Alistair protested.

"Look, I know, I know... I don't like the girl for what she did to P, even though I don't know her, but all I'm saying is that we don't know her story or why she did what she did…" Katie began to explain, but Alistair interrupted.

"Oh, shall I tell Peyton you said that? She was her best friend; you don't do that to your best friend!"

"Al, listen, all I mean is that you can't go in guns blazing when you don't know her side of it, and I know that's exactly what you're going to do. Like I said, I don't like her, but I'm not going to make this difficult for myself by causing problems, and neither should you. There's nothing wrong with being civil." Katie said.

Alistair sighed, resting his head against the head rest of his seat.

"I do want this visit to be as painless as possible…"

"Exactly, so we'll see Haley, fix the office, and be back in LA before we know it." Katie smiled.

"Are we near the office anyway?" Alistair asked, picking up Katie's cell phone to look at the satellite navigation routing she was using.

"Probably, but we're going to meet Haley at a little café first. It's called Karen's or something."

They drove for only a few minutes longer until they pulled up outside Karen's Café.

As soon as they walked through the doors, they heard an excited scream.

"Katie!" Haley exclaimed happily, running towards her friend.

"Haley!" Katie said with equal excitement, grabbing Haley into a tight hug.

They pulled away, and Alistair pulled Haley into a less affectionate, slightly awkward hug. He liked Haley, she was nice, but he didn't have as strong a friendship with her as Katie did.

"Come, sit down, let's talk." Haley smiled, leading the two into a booth by the window.

They sat down, Katie and Alistair beside each other facing Haley, and a teenage girl came over to take their order.

They ordered coffee's and began to talk.

"So, this is a pretty little spot." Alistair smiled, looking around. He had to admit that although Tree Hill was his idea of hell on earth, the little café he was sitting in was both homely and sophisticated.

"It is, huh? My friend Brooke owns it." Haley smiled, to which Alistair snorted in derision.

"Oh…"

Katie nudged him slightly, causing Haley to furrow her brows in confusion.

They made small talk until the waitress served them their coffee.

"So…how's Peyton?" Haley asked, but before she got an answer, they heard the doorbell chime, then a rather loud;

"Aunt Haley!"

The next thing they saw was a little head of blonde curls, then the little girl was clambering up onto Haley's lap.

"Hey Miss Ivy, and how are you today?" Haley laughed, tickling the little girl's side, causing her to giggle loudly.

"That tickles, Aunt Haley!"

"Where's your Mommy?" Haley asked, once she'd stopped tickling Ivy.

"She's parkin' the car." Ivy said idly, using her finger to gather up some of the foam on the top of Haley's cappuccino.

"Umm…pretty sure you're too young for coffee, little one." Haley laughed, wiping Ivy's hand with a napkin, causing Alistair and Katie to smile at the cute little girl.

"But…" Ivy began to protest, but she stopped when Brooke walked through the door.

"Ivy Sawyer Davis, didn't I tell you to go straight in the back and start your homework?" Brooke kinked an eyebrow at her daughter, walking over to the table with her hands on her hips.

Alistair and Katie looked at each other. _Sawyer?_ _Davis?_

"But I saw Aunt Haley, Mommy." Ivy protested, and Brooke laughed.

And that's when Alistair and Katie realised that the little girl sitting on Haley's lap was Brooke's daughter…whom she'd named after Peyton.

And that the woman now standing in front of them was none other than Brooke Davis herself.

"I know munchkin, it would have been rude not to say hello. But, you have to do your homework, so go in the back and I'll be there in a minute." Brooke smiled, then Ivy jumped off of Haley's lap and ran into the back of the café, saying hello to the teenage girl who'd served Haley, Alistair, and Katie, as she ran past.

"That girl…" Haley laughed, and Brooke laughed in agreement, saying;

"I know, right."

"So, there's some people I'd like you to meet." Haley smiled, motioning to Alistair and Katie, but she noticed Brooke stiffen uncomfortably.

Brooke was well aware of who Alistair and Katie were.

She remembered Peyton talking animatedly about them years earlier, and she knew that Haley and Katie were great friends. So when Haley said that VP's from Red Bedroom were coming over to fix things at the office, it didn't take long for Brooke to put two and two together.

And being in their presence now was both intimidating and exciting for Brooke. After all, they were with Peyton, the woman she longed for, pretty much every single day.

"Brooke, this is Alistair Clarke and Katie Karraway." Haley smiled.

"Brooke Davis." Brooke smiled meekly, extending her hand.

Katie shook her hand with hesitance, smiling slightly before dropping her head.

But Alistair turned his head away while muttering a bitchy "Not a chance."

Brooke instantly withdrew her hand, her face dropping in realisation.

Haley's mouth dropped in shock at Alistair's blatant dismissal of the brunette.

"Alistair…" They heard Katie warn him through gritted teeth.

"I'll catch up with you later Hales." Brooke smiled awkwardly, walking away to escape the tense atmosphere.

"Hey Brooke, why don't you come over tonight, I was going to ask Katie and Al to come over for a little drink." Haley began, smiling over at Alistair and Katie, who smiled in agreement. "Deb already said that she'd keep an eye on Ivy."

Deb said she'd babysit Ivy so Brooke didn't have any other excuse.

She had to agree.

"Sure Hales, I'll be there."

Brooke walked away, as Alistair looked her up and down and muttered; "Bitch."

Katie nudged him again, and Haley was about to call him on his behaviour until she realised something big;

Alistair and Katie knew something.

They knew what had happened between Peyton and Brooke.

* * *

A few hours later, Haley, Katie, and Alistair were at the office, mountains of paper work and a laptop laid out in front of them.

It was already seven in the evening, and Brooke and all the rest of the Tree Hill gang were due at Nathan and Haley's at eight.

"I don't know what the hell to do with this, this is bigger than anything I've dealt with before." Katie sighed, flopping back on her chair, running her hands through her medium length black hair.

The Tree Hill office was in a bigger financial mess than Peyton had originally thought and Katie had no idea how to fix it properly. It was bigger than her, and it was bigger than Alistair, and there was no way they could fix it on their own.

"Then what are we going to do? If you can't fix it, I sure as hell can't! You're the brains in this operation." Alistair said, and Katie glared at him.

"I can't believe I let this happen, it's all my fault and I don't even have the first clue how to help you guys." Haley said, letting her head drop onto the desk.

"Hey, no, Peyton already told you this is not your fault. You should have told her you were struggling and she would have seconded someone." Katie said, rubbing Haley's arm in support.

"Yeah, and she told us to tell you again that you don't have to worry about this, and that she loves you, okay. So don't beat yourself up." Alistair said, trying to soothe her.

"I know, it's just…what the hell are we going to do? She trusted me with this." Haley said, sitting up again.

Katie looked over a few papers again, then sighed.

"There's only one way this can be fixed…" She started.

Alistair and Haley looked up in interest.

"Peyton." Katie finished, and Alistair shook his head.

"She won't come over here, Kate, you know that."

"She also said that under no circumstances will she close down this office…" Katie said, picking up her cell phone to call Peyton. "What does she care about more; her pride, or her company?"

She called Peyton and explained everything to her, until the conversation got to here;

"_So, what are you saying, Katie?"_

"I'm saying, Alistair and I can't fix this, it's way over our heads."

Peyton was silent for a few seconds while she weighed up her options.

"_I can't close down that office."_

"I know you can't, but there's only one way to fix it."

"_I know…" Peyton said, well aware of the only solution to the problem._

"It's time to swallow your pride P. If you want to keep this office open, it's your only option."

Time to swallow her pride? This peaked Haley's interest.

"_Have you seen her?"_

"Yeah, we have." Katie didn't want to say too much in front of Haley, and Peyton could tell that.

"_How long do you estimate it'll take to fix things down there?"_

"I have no idea, you'll have to see the papers for yourself, I can't tell."

Katie heard Peyton sigh.

"_I can't close that office, Kate, I can't."_

"I know…"

"_Are you sure this is my only option? I mean, 100% my only option, because you know how I feel about Tree Hill."_

"Peyton, if there was any other possible way I would tried it, but there isn't."

Peyton sighed again.

"_I have some things to take care of tomorrow…I'll get the first flight down there on Saturday morning." Peyton conceded in a defeated, pessimistic, voice._

They finished their conversation, and Katie hung up, a big smile on her face for convincing Peyton to do something she should have done a long time ago.

"Haley…it's lucky we're meeting all of your friends tonight, because you can tell them the good news in person. Peyton's coming home."

* * *

Haley, Alistair, and Katie got to Haley's a little after eight, and after some short introductions, Haley was about to tell them the good news.

"So, guys, I have an announcement to make, and it's a pretty damn good one…" Haley started happily, getting all of her friends' attention.

Everyone looked at her with interest.

"Katie talked to Peyton today about the office, and they need her help to get it back up and running, and well, to do that, she's coming to Tree Hill. Peyton's coming home, guys!" Haley finished with happiness and enthusiasm, and all of the gang began talking and laughing with excitement, sharing how happy they were that their blonde friend was finally coming back after six years.

All except one; Brooke, who got up from her seat and tried to walk out of the room without being noticed.

It didn't work.

"Oh would you look at that, Brooke Davis walks away…again!" Alistair said snarkily, causing Brooke to stop in her tracks.

"Hey man, what the fuck…!" Nathan started, but Brooke stopped him.

"It's okay, Nathan." She said as she went to walk away again, but again, Alistair stopped her.

"I hope it feels good by the way, being able to walk away so easily when Peyton is pretty much still broken. I hope that feels pretty damn good, Brooke."

"Alistair, leave it." Katie warned through gritted teeth.

"No, why should I!"

This time Brooke turned around.

"Listen, Alistair, I know what I did to Peyton was wrong, horrible, and I've had to live with what I did for six fucking years. I'm punished with what I did every, single, day, by the regret and the guilt that I feel, and I don't need someone like you coming here and judging me, when you know _nothing _about me." Brooke said sharply, her tone of voice portraying how serious she was about what she was saying, and how angry she was at Alistair for judging her.

But what her friends noticed was that it was the first time in six years that Brooke had opened up about Peyton in the slightest, or portrayed any strong feelings about anything that wasn't about Ivy.

And they couldn't help but noticed that this glimpse of the old Brooke coincided with the news that the blonde was coming home.

But in that moment, what they were wondering about mostly was what the hell Brooke had actually done.

For the third time, Brooke tried to walk away, but upon hearing the confused whispers about what Brooke had done, Alistair stopped her yet again.

"Oh how fucking surprising, your friends' don't even know what you did." Alistair laughed bitterly.

"Leave it Al, I mean it." Katie warned again, but Alistair didn't listen.

"You got your own little wicked way, you got what you wanted from her, then you walked away, and ended up with the perfect little life. While all Peyton does is work to_ try_ and keep herself happy, because _you_ fucking broke her. Real classy, Brooke."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Brooke argued.

Any other time, the gang would have defended Brooke, but in that moment they were far too curious, and Brooke had already admitted that she did something wrong, they just didn't know what it was.

So they couldn't be mad at Alistair for calling her on it; he was defending Peyton.

"Oh I think I do…" Alistair stared through her, his eyes burning holes through her.

"No, you don't, okay, it wasn't like that!" Brooke yelled, finally losing it with him. "I didn't take what I wanted from her, I didn't have my wicked way as you so nicely put it, and if you have to know, I came back for her okay, but she was gone!" Brooke finished, crying by the time she had finished.

"Brooke, what the hell actually happened?!" Haley exclaimed loudly, getting tired of the back and fourth, needing to know what had actually gone down six years earlier.

Wicked way? That usually only meant one thing…but no, it couldn't have been!

Brooke shook her head, and began muttering 'no' under her breath as she tried to walk away for a fourth time.

"Don't you think it's about time they knew the truth, Brooke? After what you did six years ago, you owe Peyton at least that." Alistair spat, and Brooke turned around again. "It's time to tell, Brooke…if you don't, I will."

"Alistair…Peyton will kill you!" Katie exclaimed in a hushed tone.

But there was no need for Alistair to tell anyone anything when Brooke broke down.

"You win, Alistair, okay, you win!" She cried. "Six years ago, I slept with Peyton, and then I left her. I told her I loved her, I slept with her, and then I ran!" She finished, the tears heavy now.

There were mutters of 'Oh my God', and 'Brooke', from all of her friends.

She explained about the adoption agency, and how she'd practically forced Peyton to move out so she could get a baby, even though she knew the blonde had pretty much nowhere else to go. Then she explained how the night before Peyton left for LA she'd panicked, and how one thing lead to another and they wound up sleeping together. She then explained how she'd told the blonde she loved her, then woke up the next morning, got scared, and ran.

Her friends were in shock by the time she'd finished.

It was something that they never though Brooke could do, especially not to Peyton.

But they weren't angry, because they already knew from earlier in the conversation how guilty and regretful Brooke was of her actions.

"Now you know, she broke her best friend's heart, just like that…" Alistair said, looking at the gang, but Brooke stopped him.

"I'm not finished. I realised that night that letting Peyton go was a huge mistake, so I went back to the house to tell her how I felt. But when I got there, she was gone." She began, the tears still there as strong as ever. "I drove to the airport, and I raced through the halls, and terminals, hoping to God that she'd still be there, but I was too late. When I got there, her flight was taking off into the air."

"Brooke…I didn't know that." Alistair said, but Brooke started to talk over him again.

"The next day was the day I got baby Angie for three months, and only days after Angie went home, I found out about Ivy, and as time went on, it got harder and harder to go after her."

"Brooke…" Haley breathed, feeling bewildered by everything she'd just heard.

Still letting the tears fall, Brooke continued through her sobs. "When I told her I loved her that night, I meant it. I made a mistake letting her go, and it's a mistake I pay for every day. I love Ivy, and I wouldn't change having her for the world, but I wish _every day_ that I had gone after Peyton too, because you know what Alistair, I love her, I've loved her forever, and I've continued to love her every day for six years, no matter what you may think!"

Alistair, Katie, and Haley had tears in their eyes.

"Oh Brooke!" Haley exclaimed, running over and enveloping her friend in a comforting hug, and Brooke buried her face in Haley's neck.

Alistair stood there completely gob smacked, having not expected Brooke to say what she did.

He had just been proven completely wrong.

"I told you to leave it alone." Katie whispered to him, and he simply closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Mommy…?" Brooke pulled away from her hug with Haley to see little Ivy looking up at her. "Are you okay?"

"Yes sweetie, I'm okay, we were just talking about something really sad, that's why Aunt Haley is crying too." Brooke smiled, carrying her daughter out of the room, away from everything that had just happened.

Everyone looked at each other, completely in shock.

Of all the things they'd expected to have happened between the two women, it certainly wasn't that.

And Alistair and Katie hadn't expected Brooke to be in love with Peyton.

But it explained a lot of Brooke's contradictory behaviour.

She didn't talk about Peyton because it was too hard, but she drove her car to feel like she was still close to her.

And she didn't dress Ivy like Peyton and give her the name Sawyer to try to replace Peyton. She did those things because she wanted Ivy to _be _Peyton's…

* * *

**Next chapter: Peyton comes home.**


	4. Coming Home

**Thank-you to everyone who answered my Survey, you rock the most!**

* * *

"Mommy, why are we stopped?" Ivy asked from the back seat of Brooke's SUV.

It was Saturday afternoon and they were driving home from the Cemetery after visiting Ivy's birthmother, when Brooke suddenly stopped outside of Tric.

Haley, Alistair, and Katie were standing outside, and Alistair and Katie were smoking a cigarette. But Brooke knew that a cigarette wasn't the real reason for them being outside, or Haley wouldn't have been there.

Also, Haley was very rarely at the office on a Saturday afternoon anymore.

No.

Brooke knew the reason why they were standing outside, and it was that reason that made Brooke draw to a halt at the other side of the road.

Peyton was on her way.

"What, Sweetie?" Brooke asked absentmindedly as she stared out of the window.

"Why are we stopped?" Ivy asked again.

"Oh, um, mommy just needs a little rest." Brooke lied, and the little girl just shrugged her shoulders then went back to the colouring book that was on her lap.

It was only a few minutes longer that Brooke heard the loud rumble of rock music, then she saw the black Audi R8 fly around the corner then into the parking lot at Tric.

She was back.

Brooke's breathing hitched when she saw the car door opening.

The first thing she saw were the black Louboutin's when Peyton swung her legs out of the car.

Next she saw those gorgeous, long, legs, when they blonde climbed out of the car.

She still had a body to die for, and Brooke could definitely remember that body.

She was wearing dark skinny jeans, and a silver blazer, and she was clutching a red purse.

And when she turned to look around, Brooke saw the black sunglasses on her face, and the white, figure hugging, tank top she wore.

She looked good… incredibly good in fact.

But there was one change in her that had Brooke's heart racing; her hair.

Gone were the tight curls that she once wore, and in their place was long, golden, straight, locks, with a slight wave in them that made the blonde look sophisticated, and glamorous.

Brooke's heart was pounding in her chest, everything she felt for the blonde slamming into her again like a punch in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

What she wouldn't give to be able to climb out of her car, run over there, and take Peyton into her arms.

She sighed though… Peyton was obviously doing well, when for the past six years she had been dying inside. Ivy was her life line.

"Mommy, we have to go, I really need to use the bathroom." Ivy said quietly, breaking Brooke from her reverie.

"Sure, Sweetie."

And with that, Brooke drove away, thoughts of Peyton plaguing her mind.

* * *

Peyton looked around at her surroundings.

Here she was, back in Tree Hill, the place she'd sworn she'd never return to.

All because of one brunette who'd shattered her heart.

A brunette who she'd secretly wished would be there in that moment to declare her love and tell her she was sorry.

But Peyton knew that was a long shot.

She was probably married to a guy now, their night together a distant, irrelevant, memory.

She sighed and walked over to meet her friends.

"I can't believe I'm back here." She said, meeting them.

"Shut up, it's about time you manned the fuck up!" Katie said, telling it like it is. "You can't hide forever, honey."

Peyton glared at her, before pulling Haley into a hug and smiling. "It's good to see you, Hales."

. . .

"So, can you fix it?" Haley asked worriedly, as they sat around Peyton's desk.

Peyton was looking over the numbers.

"Yeah, it's not as bad as I thought actually, but it will take us a while. I can see me being here for around three months…at least." Peyton sighed.

"Us too?" Alistair asked.

"I'll need you two for at least a month, and then you're good." She smiled.

"Good, I miss Ca…I mean, I…I miss LA." He stammered.

"Oh my God, you were gonna say you miss, Carl!" Peyton exclaimed.

Alistair had a reputation at their local haunts for sleeping around, but recently he'd been seeing a guy called Carl, and Peyton and Katie could tell he was falling for him, but Alistair adamantly denied it.

"You so were! Oh my God, Alistair's becoming a real man!" Katie laughed.

"What, what's going on?" Haley laughed, so Katie explained.

"Alistair's seeing this guy, Carl, who's super awesome, but he refuses to admit that he likes him…or subsequently that he misses him now."

"I don't miss him, oh my God!" Alistair pouted while Katie and Peyton laughed. "Well what about you two? Katie, you're probably growing cobwebs down there it's been that long, and Peyton, you're incapable of seeing the same person for more than three weeks before wimping out, and we all know why that is…miss stuck in the past!"

Peyton instantly stopped laughing and visibly stiffened.

"Alistair, that wasn't cool." Katie said quietly.

But Peyton shook her head, and smiled, letting them know it wasn't Alistair's words she bothered about.

He was right.

But she didn't know if Haley knew anything so she didn't want to say anything.

Haley could see her inner struggle, so she decided to speak up.

"Peyton, I know…"

"You, you know?" She asked to clarify, and Haley nodded.

"Peyt, we saw her." Alistair sighed.

"Why am I getting the feeling that that meeting didn't go so well?" Peyton asked, worriedly.

"Okay, please don't be mad…" Alistair started, and then proceeded to tell Peyton all about what had happened a couple of nights before.

"You did what?!" Peyton exclaimed when he had finished. She knew that being upfront was just his personality, but for this she was pretty damn mad at him.

"I'm sorry Peyton, I know I shouldn't have, it's just, I know how much you hurt because of her, and she just made me so mad. She tried to leave the room at the mere mention of your name, when you've been struggling for the past six years, and I…I don't know, she just got under my skin!" Alistair pleaded with her.

"I know Alistair, and I love you for having my back like that, but you can't just erupt like that in front of everyone!"

"At first I thought her friends knew, Peyt, I swear."

Peyton sighed. Truthfully, she was mad at him for probably humiliating Brooke, because deep down, she still cared for her… a lot, but she didn't want to admit weakness by taking Brooke's side after originally refusing point blank to be here because of her.

She didn't want to be a hypocrite.

"Al, I don't want to be here as it is, so the last thing I want to do is fight with you. So, apologise to Brooke when you see her again, and we're good."

"I will. I'm sorry Peyton." He said with sincerity.

"Know what, I'm suddenly not in the mood to work anymore. Let's wrap this up and start again on Monday." Peyton said, throwing her pen onto the desk.

* * *

Peyton drove through the streets of Tree Hill, on her way back to her hotel.

She'd told Alistair and Katie that she'd meet up with them later, needing some time to herself.

Needing a coffee, she drove through the streets looking for some of her old favourites, when her eyes fell on the spot where Clothes over Bro's once stood.

It was Karen's Café again.

She smiled a comforting smile.

She parked the car and walked into the establishment.

It was different than it was originally, but Peyton noticed that the old sign still hung above the counter;

'_Somebody told me that this is the place where everything's better and everything's safe.'_

Karen's Café always was a safe haven for her.

Everything it contained had always brought her comfort, and she wondered if it would still be the same.

She walked up to the counter where a teenage girl was serving.

"Good afternoon, what can I get you?" The teenage girl smiled.

"Umm…" Peyton started, looking at the menu.

"You can take a break now, Stephanie, I'll take over." The teenage girl's boss said, walking out from the back of the café with her head down, looking at some papers.

The teenage girl smiled at Peyton then walked away, then Brooke put her paper down and looked up.

"What can I get y…Peyton." Brooke breathed, her tone one of surprise, happiness, and worry, all mixed together.

"Brooke…"

. . .

"You look good." Brooke said, not really knowing what to say to the blonde, as she made her a latte to go.

"So do you. How have you been?" Peyton asked, continuing the small talk.

"Um, good…yeah, let's just say good." Brooke mumbled, pouring Peyton's coffee into a cup. "You?"

"Good." Peyton said quietly.

"You're doing well with the company." Brooke smiled, handing Peyton the cup.

"Thanks' Brooke." Peyton smiled back awkwardly, handing Brooke a twenty, then holding her cup up slightly. "I guess I'll see you around."

And with that, Peyton left, leaving Brooke standing at the counter her heart both racing, and sinking into the pit of her stomach.

Seeing Peyton again was both exhilarating and utterly heart breaking.

What Brooke would have given to take Peyton's hand and promise her all the love in the world in that moment.

But Peyton seemed so calm, and it unnerved her.

She obviously didn't feel the same for her.

But oh how wrong Brooke was.

Brooke didn't notice the other customers waiting to be served, or that she was shaking and pale, until Stephanie, the teenage girl, appeared behind the counter.

"Brooke…I'll take my break later, you should go sit down."

Brooke walked into the back again, where Ivy was sitting at a table, drawing.

"Look Mommy, I drew a picture of me and you!" The little girl said happily, holding the picture out for Brooke to see.

And Brooke instantly felt better.

But she couldn't help but think how amazing, and how complete her life would be, if she had both Ivy, and Peyton.

* * *

Peyton knocked on Alistair's hotel room door, but it was Katie who opened it.

As Katie opened the door, she heard her and Alistair talking about breakfast at Haley's the next morning, which Haley had texted Katie about moments earlier, to invite her, Alistair, and Peyton.

"P, are you okay?" She asked worriedly, the paleness of Peyton's face letting her know that something was definitely wrong.

"I saw Brooke."

Katie ushered her into the room, and as soon as the door closed behind her, she burst into tears.

"I love her guys, I love her so much!"

* * *

**Next chapter: More Peyton/Brooke interaction.**

**So, my good friend **_**crashspike22**_** has written a Peyton/Lindsey angry, smutty, fic. It's called Sleeping Somewhere Cold, and it is really **_**really**_** good!  
Look out for it, and give it a read when it's posted.**

**Reviews keep me motivated…**


	5. Breakfast at Naley's

"Good morning, Aunt Haley." Ivy smiled, walking into Nathan and Haleys kitchen, her teddy bear clutched in one hand, the other hand holding Brooke's hand, as the brunette walked behind her.

"Well good morning, Ivy, how are you today?" Haley smiled, bending down to hug the little girl.

"I'm good Aunt Haley." Ivy smiled, moving away from Haley, and walking over to Jamie, who lifted her onto a stool at the breakfast bar.

"Aunt Haley, who was the lady with the cool car yesterday at your office?" Ivy asked innocently, causing Brooke's mouth to drop open.

"Lady with the cool car?" Haley asked, confused, until the penny dropped.

Brooke had been there when Peyton arrived at Tric.

"Care to explain, Brooke?" Haley smiled, directing her attention to Brooke.

"Jamie, why don't you take Ivy upstairs to see Chester?" Brooke asked Jamie, and the eleven year old boy groaned.

"You always send us upstairs when you want to talk about things that you _think_ I don't understand." Jamie said, as he lifted Ivy off of her chair.

Jamie took Lydia too, then the kids ran upstairs to Jamie's room.

"We saw her yesterday…" Brooke began to explain.

"You saw her?"

"We were there, when she arrived at Tric. We were in the car across the street. I don't know what came over me. We were driving past, and I saw you and Katie, and that other guy, standing outside, and I just knew she was on her way. So I stopped." Brooke explained.

"How did we not see you, I'd know that Comet anywhere." Haley mused.

"We were in the SUV." Brooke explained. "Anyway, she came by the café last night too. She mustn't have known that I own it now…"

"She did? Did you talk to her?!" Haley asked, excitedly.

"I did…" Brooke began, disappointment evident in her voice. "She seems so happy Haley, like she doesn't care about me anymore."

"No, Brooke…" Haley tried to soothe.

"I thought that when Alistair said that she was broken because of me that she would love me like I love her. But I saw her, and she, she just seems so…okay." Brooke said, her voice still sad and disappointed.

"Brooke, I don't think she's okay…" Haley began, but then the door opened and Nathan, Lucas, Lindsey, and Skills came in.

"What's up B Davis, where's Ivy S D?" Skills asked, looking for his niece.

"She's upstairs, Skills." Brooke laughed.

"Yo Ivy!" Skills shouted upstairs, then the kids came running downstairs again, putting an end to Haley and Brooke's conversation.

That, and the doorbell ringing.

. . .

"Why am I nervous?" Peyton asked worriedly, as she, Katie, and Alistair, stood outside Haley's house.

"Because you haven't seen these people in six years, and you know Brooke's inside, maybe that's why." Katie said, and Peyton glared at her.

"That was a rhetorical question." She hissed, as Haley opened the door.

"Hey, I'm so glad you came!" Haley said happily, pulling Peyton into a hug. "Come on in, breakfast is almost ready."

They walked into the house, and Peyton could feel the real nerves kicking in as she got closer to the kitchen.

"Guys…" Haley said happily, getting everyone's attention, as they walked into the kitchen.

"Oh my god, P Sawyer!" Skills exclaimed happily as Peyton walked in.

Brooke looked at the love of her life. She was dressed down compared to the previous day. Her hair was pulled back into a wavy pony tail, and she was wearing skinny jeans, converse, and a band tee. Like the old Peyton she remembered.

And she looked beautiful all the same.

"Hey skills." She smiled, and laughed when he pulled her into a hug and spun her around. "It's good to see you, too."

Nathan and Lucas greeted her with happiness as well, happy to see the girl they hadn't seen in six years.

"Um…Hi…" Peyton started awkwardly, when it came to greeting Lindsey.

"Come on, Peyton, it's been six years, the past is the past, it's really good to see you." The older girl laughed, and Peyton breathed a sigh of relief when Lindsey pulled her into a hug.

"Hi…" Brooke said quietly, walking over to Peyton.

"Hey…" Peyton said awkwardly, looking down. "Oh, Alistair, don't you have something you'd like to say to Brooke?"

"Oh, yeah…Listen Brooke, I'm really sorry about everything I said to you the other night. It wasn't my place to say anything, and I'm just…well, I'm sorry." He said, the shame evident in his voice.

"It's okay, don't worry about it." Brooke said quietly, not wanting to start an argument in front of her daughter.

"Hey Aunt Peyton!" Peyton heard the chirpy voice, and she turned around to see a tall boy with sandy blonde hair, who was the image of a young Lucas.

"Oh my God, you are not Jamie Scott!" Peyton laughed, holding the boy at arm's length so she could look at him.

"It is me." He laughed. "Can't you remember me?" He asked, looking at her.

"Of course I can remember you, Dude! I'm surprised you remember me, I haven't seen you since you were five!" Peyton said, pulling the boy in for a hug.

"I know, what's with that?" Jamie asked, and Peyton laughed.

"Oh wow, you are your Dad."

Ivy was standing next to Brooke, looking up at her, silently asking to be introduced to the blonde newcomer.

"Um, Peyton…"Brooke started, and the blonde turned around.

But before she could continue, Ivy cut her off.

"I know you! You're the lady from the pictures my Mom has in the box in her closet!" She said, looking at Peyton.

Brooke closed her eyes and sighed.

Peyton bent down to Ivy's level and smiled.

"And who might you be, little Blondie?"

Brooke went to interrupt her, but Ivy spoke again.

"My names Ivy Sawyer Davis, and I'm age five."

Peyton looked up at Brooke, her eyes wide with surprise. Ivy was clearly Brooke's… but her name had Sawyer in it?

"What's your name?" Ivy asked.

"My…my name is Peyton Sawyer." Peyton smiled at the little girl.

"Sawyer? That's like my name!" Ivy said with excitement.

"It is huh? I like you're hair." Peyton smiled, gently pulling on one of the little girls bouncy curls. "I used to have curls like that."

"You did?!" Ivy asked with amazement. "And you have shoes like mine too!" She said, matching her tiny, pink converse, up to Peyton's white ones.

"We're the coolest, huh?" Peyton said to the little girl, and Ivy smiled wide.

That's when Brooke knew that her little girl was now infatuated with Peyton.

But could she blame her?

No, she could not.

. . .

After breakfast, Peyton walked into Haley's music room, where she found Brooke standing by the window alone.

"So, you have a little girl, huh?" She asked, as she walked further into the room.

"Yeah." Brooke smiled, keeping her stare directed out of the window.

"She beautiful, Brooke."

That made Brooke turn around.

"She really is. She's my world." Brooke smiled fondly, her love for her daughter very evident.

They stood in awkward silence for a little while.

"So, aren't you going to ask about her name?" Brooke asked, knowing fine well that Peyton had noticed the Sawyer thing.

"Yeah…Ivy's unusual. How did you choose it?" Peyton asked.

"That's not what I meant." Brooke said, turning around to the window again.

"I know…" Peyton breathed quietly.

"You were my best friend for fourteen years. I missed you, and I wanted Ivy to have a part of you." Brooke explained.

Peyton nodded and smiled.

"I'm honoured that such an amazing little girl has my name."

They stood in silence again for a little while, until Brooke reached into her pocket and pulled something out.

She walked over and placed the item in Peyton's hand.

It was the keys to the Comet.

"You kept my car?" She breathed in surprise.

"I…I've been driving it…I wanted to keep it going until you came back for it." Brooke said carefully. She knew how Peyton was about letting People drive the Comet.

But Peyton smiled.

"Thank-you, Brooke." She said with sincerity.

But she furrowed her brows.

If Brooke cared so much about her, to drive her car, and name her daughter after her, then how could she have left her all those years ago?

And why would she do all of those things if she'd moved on.

Which she obviously had or she wouldn't have Ivy.

And she'd obviously moved on pretty quickly considering Ivy's age.

Then all the hurt and the sadness she'd felt for six years slammed back into her again.

She'd been broken, and sad, for six years, while Brooke had been perfectly happy.

It's not that she'd expected Brooke to be broken, because Brooke had been the one to leave her, but a part of her had still hoped that she would be.

That hope was now dead.

"I, I…you have a beautiful daughter, Brooke." Peyton said quickly, then she left the room before Brooke had a chance to respond.

Brooke's heart sank.

She thought she'd heard a little bit of love in Peyton's voice for a second.

But then Peyton left before they could even talk about anything more.

The blonde obviously had nothing that she wanted to say, while Brooke wanted to say everything.

She'd hoped that Peyton felt the same as she did.

But she obviously didn't.

Brooke was broken from her thoughts by Ivy.

"Mama, can I stay with Aunt Haley on Friday, Nanny Debs going to make Cupcakes!" The little girl asked excitedly, as Haley followed her into the room.

"If it's okay with you, Brooke, she can stay on Friday."

"Yes, that is totally fine with me." Brooke smiled.

"Yesss!"

* * *

**Next Chapter: Ivy's staying with Haley…I wonder where Brooke will end up?**

**Reviews keep me motivated…**


	6. I wish you hadn't said it

"You be good for Aunt Haley, and don't eat too much cupcakes." Brooke said, bending down to Ivy's level.

"I won't Mommy, I promise." Ivy smiled, her teeth on full show.

"I mean it Ivy, I know that face." Brooke said seriously, and Ivy just flashed her a grin again. "Okay, I'm gonna get going, bye Munchkin, I love you." She finished, hugging her daughter before standing up.

"Bye Mommy, I love you too."

Brooke left Haley's and got into her car, and before she knew it, she was driving along the street where Tric was.

She saw Peyton's office light on, and before she knew what she was doing, she was parking her SUV next to the comet.

"I saw your light on." She said quietly as she walked into the office.

Peyton was sitting at her desk, engrossed in paperwork, and she looked up as Brooke approached her desk.

"Brooke…" Peyton started. "This is unexpected."

"Yeah, I, I saw your light on and I just…" Brooke trailed off, she didn't know what to say. She had no idea why she was there.

"Do you want to sit down?" Peyton motioned to the seat in front of her desk, and Brooke sat down.

"So, breakfast was nice on Sunday, huh?" Brooke said awkwardly.

"Yeah, it was good to see everyone again, and it's awesome that Lucas and Lindsey got back together." Peyton smiled.

"It is, Lucas tracked her down after their non-wedding and tried and tried with her until she finally took him back. They've been happy ever since." Brooke explained.

They sat in silence for a few seconds, until Peyton found her voice.

"Brooke, why are you here?"

"I…I…Peyton why didn't you ask about Ivy's name?" Brooke asked.

"What…?"

"Her name is Sawyer, Peyton, and I know you noticed, so why didn't you ask?"

"Why did you name her after me, Brooke?" Peyton replied.

"I told you why."

"But I don't get it Brooke, you've clearly moved on or you wouldn't even have Ivy, but yet, after everything that happened between us six years ago, you still give her my name. Why?" Peyton asked calmly.

Brooke stood up and crossed her arms.

"Do you have a problem with Ivy having your name?!" She asked, offended by what Peyton said.

"What? No, of course not, she's a little joy, I'm honoured she has my name, I just don't get it!" Peyton argued.

"What is there to get Peyton, I named her after you because I missed you okay!"

"You missed me? It's your own fault, you walked out on me!"

"Well me walking out on you doesn't seem to have done you any harm!" Brooke said then instantly regretted it. "And by the way, Ivy's adopted. I haven't moved on at all, regardless of what you may think."

Peyton stood up now and walked out from behind her desk.

"Hasn't done me any harm? I've been broken for six years Brooke, six years, if it wasn't for the company, I would have drowned! And you know what, I don't know why I said 'moved on', because you were never 'on' with me to begin with, I was just naïve enough to think that you were!" Peyton yelled, tears gathering in her eyes.

"You've been broken? And you think I haven't been? Peyton I came back for you, did you know that, I came back, but you were gone, you didn't even wait, so don't you dare!"

"I waited for you until the last possible second that night Brooke, and you weren't there, so don't you dare lie to me!" Peyton cried.

It was Brooke's turn to start crying now.

"I haven't moved on, Peyton, okay, and that's because I was telling the truth that night; I love you, but I panicked. And I came back for you, I did, and I came to the airport, but you were gone, I still remember, it was a six o'clock flight, I got to the airport at 5:59, and I was too late. You went, you didn't wait for me!" Brooke was chocked with tears now.

"No! You don't get to say that to me! You forced me to leave, you were cold, and heartless, and you threw me out! And when we slept together, and you said you loved me, I thought you had changed your mind, and I was so happy because I thought we had shot because I love you too. But then you never came back! I didn't wait because I thought it was what you wanted, I left because you wanted me to. So don't you dare put this on me, because you said you loved me, but you never did, and I wish you had never said it!" Peyton was also chocked from tears now.

"Peyton I do love you, why do you think I have that box Ivy told you about?!" Brooke tried, but Peyton cut her off

"No! Because you don't walk out on the person you love!...Peyton said, then wiped her tears and walked to the door. "I can't do this, you have to go."

"Peyton…"

"Go!"

* * *

"I need a large glass of wine, a very large glass." Peyton commented as she, Alistair, and Katie walked into a gay bar in a town outside of Tree Hill.

"Forget about it P, it was a stupid argument, just try to have fun." Katie smiled.

"I can't though, she said all these things…"

"And she told us the same things last week, but we didn't want to tell you…" Alistair said, moving into the crowd at the bar to get the drinks.

"You should have told me, and maybe I wouldn't feel so shit right now."

"It wasn't our place, Peyton." Katie said.

"I know…"

After getting their drinks, they moved to a table at the other side of the bar, not noticing a certain Brunette sitting at the other side of the bar.

Brooke frequented this bar whenever she felt like a drink when Ivy was staying out.

She'd been going for six years, and the bartender now knew her by name.

"Hit me, Brad…" She said, holding her shot glass out to the bartender to fill it up with tequila as she watched Peyton walk onto the dance floor with Katie.

Peyton and Katie were dancing up-close to each other, and to anyone else it would look completely innocent, like two friends having fun, but due to Brooke's drunk and emotional state and her feelings for Peyton, to her it looked like so much more.

Brooke was pretty wasted as she sat at the bar, watching the love of her life through the busy crowd.

Alistair was talking to a guy as Katie and Peyton danced, grinding up close to each other, purely in a friendly way as they sang along to the music.

'_I'm gon party, I'm gon dance, put your hand's upon my body.'_

Who the hell was Katie to tell girl to put her hands on her body? Brooke thought as she downed her shots and asked for more.

"Don't you think you've had quite enough for the night, Brooke?" The bartender asked.

"Just pour the alcohol, Brad." Brooke slurred, and the bartender did as he was told.

But before Brooke had the chance to down them, she felt and arm wrap around her and lift her from her seat.

She turned her head around to see who had moved her from the bar.

"Alistair?"

"Come on, Brooke, you have to go home." He said as he carried her across the bar, to the dance floor.

"Brooke?" Peyton said in a panic as she walked over to them quickly and took Brooke out of Alistair's arms.

"I hope you have a nice time fucking _her." _Brooke spat to Peyton, as she tried to point at Katie while sending her a death glare.

Katie furrowed her brows in confusion.

"What are you…?" Alistair said, but Peyton cut her off.

"Brooke, Katie's straight…"

"So were we…" Brooke slurred bitterly, and Peyton looked at her with a sad expression.

"Come on, I'm taking you home." Peyton said, then she said a quick goodbye to Alistair and Katie before taking Brooke's outside and into a taxi.

* * *

Peyton carried Brooke into her house, the same house she'd lived in with her six years ago, only now the décor had changed, and what used to be her room, was now Ivy's.

There was photos of Brooke and Ivy dotted around the living room, and Peyton had to smile.

She carried Brooke into her room, and the brunette passed out the minute Peyton lay her down on her bed.

She didn't want to be to hands on because I didn't feel right, so Peyton removed the brunette's shoes and jacket, and slipped off her jeans with hesitation, then she moved her under the covers and tucked them around her to make sure she was comfortable.

She then retrieved a bucket from the kitchen in case Brooke puked, and a glass of water and two aspirin for the morning, and sat them next to Brooke's bed.

She sat on the edge of the bed beside Brooke and ran her hand through her brunette hair.

"I love you, B Davis, you know I always have." Then she leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to her temple before standing up and heading for the door.

"Hey Peyton…" Brooke's soft voice stopped her and she turned around.

"I hate Katie for taking you from me…she ruined everything." Brooke finished, then passed out against her pillow again.

Tears gathered in Peyton's eyes as she left Brooke's house, and she walked along the road thinking of the events of that day.

How could Brooke think that there was anything between her and Katie, Katie was straight, and besides, for six years her mind had been consumed by Brooke, and only Brooke…

* * *

**I love Reviews :)**


	7. We could be Friends

It was the morning after Peyton had taken Brooke home from the bar, and Peyton got out of her rental R8, slamming the door behind her, and walked up to Brooke's front door, banging on it with determination.

She waited for a few moments and the door opened slowly, but instead of seeing Brooke, Peyton saw the little head of blonde curls.

"Hi Peyton!" Ivy said enthusiastically, bouncing up and down.

"Hey Ivy, is your Mo…" Peyton started to say, until she heard Brooke's voice as the brunette walked down the stairs.

"Ivy, what have I told you about answering the door when you don't know who it is?"

Peyton laughed, Brooke was such a Mom.

"But I do know who it is Mommy, its Peyton." Ivy said happily.

Then Brooke appeared at the door looking rough as hell.

She had bags under her eyes, her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, and she was dressed in pyjamas and a robe.

"You look… well there are no words." Peyton said, laughing, trying to break the tension that had enveloped them.

"Mommy has a wine hangover, don't ya Mommy." Ivy said, crossing her little arms and looking up at Brooke.

Brooke sent them both a sarcastic look. "It's not a hangover, its wine flu." She said, deadpan.

"Would you like to come in, Peyton?" Ivy smiled, and Brooke went to argue but Peyton just walked past her.

"Matter of fact, Ivy, I would." Peyton sent a smile in Brooke's direction.

Brooke closed the door and turned to Peyton.

"Ivy, sweetie, why don't you go play upstairs for a little while." Brooke smiled to her daughter.

"But Mommy, I want to talk to Peyton!" Ivy pouted.

"You can talk to Peyton later, just go play upstairs, okay."

Ivy stamped her foot, then trudged upstairs and into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

"Oh wow, an attitude only Brooke Davis could teach." Peyton laughed, her eyes on the stairs that Ivy had just climbed.

"Funny, she reminds me of someone else who behaved like that as a child…" Brooke said, tilting her head at Peyton, who just laughed. Peyton did have an attitude problem as a kid. "So… I guess you're here about last night, huh?"

Peyton just nodded her head.

"Do you want to sit down, can I get you a coffee or something?" Brooke asked nervously.

"No, I'm good." Peyton said, fiddling with her car keys nervously. "Brooke, I'm not sleeping with Katie."

"Wha…?" Brooke started to question in confusion, then it all came flooding back to her. "Peyton, I'm sorry." She finished, flopping onto the couch with her head in her hands.

"I don't know where you got the idea, or why it affects, or even bothers you. But it's been eating away at me all night and I just, I won't be able to get it out of my system until I tell you that I'm not sleeping with Katie, I never have done, and I never will, because Katie's just a friend… oh yeah, and she's straight." Peyton explained.

"I know, Peyton, I know…" Brooke sighed, "I don't know why I said it, all I can remember is seeing you on the dance floor with her, and this jealously came over me, and she was unnerving me…" Brooke said, but Peyton cut her off.

"Katie was unnerving you? You were jealous? Jealous of what, Brooke?!" She exclaimed, slightly annoyed.

"Of her Peyton okay, of her! I was jealous of her being so damn close to you on that dance floor!" Brooke argued back, then touched her temple and winced in pain as her hung-over head reacted to the loudness of her voice.

Peyton took a step back in surprise.

"You were jealous that she was close to me?"

"I told you yesterday how I feel about you, you know why I would be jealous. So don't stand there pretending like you don't." Brooke said quietly, she wasn't playing games today, she was too hung-over for that.

"Well you know what Brooke, you should have thought about all of this before you told me you loved me then left me in bed six years ago." Peyton said, heading for the door.

"I told you yesterday, I made a mistake!"

"Hindsight's a wonderful thing." Peyton said bitterly, opening the front door, but Brooke's quiet voice stopped her from leaving.

"Can you honestly tell me that you don't have any feelings for me?" Brooke asked, remembering what Alistair had said about the blonde being broken.

"No Brooke, I can't tell you that, because you know what, I do love you, and I think you already know that. But you trampled over my heart six years ago to the point where it's pretty much unfixable, and to be honest with you, still loving you just isn't enough."

"Peyton…" Brooke said with tears in her eyes, as Peyton opened the door again to leave.

"Tell Ivy I'm sorry and I'll see her soon."

"Peyton…" Brooke tried to stop her from leaving, but Peyton walked out of the house, closing the door behind her. "I love you…"

Neither Brooke, nor Peyton, noticed Ivy sitting at the top of the stairs…

* * *

"Mommy has wine flu." Ivy said as she fastened her seatbelt in the back seat of Haley's car.

"So I heard…" Haley laughed from the front seat. "Wine flu, is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

After Peyton left, Brooke felt even worse; her head was pounding like nothing she'd ever felt before, so she decided to call Haley to ask her to watch Ivy for a few hours until she was feeling slightly better.

Brooke never was good with a hangover, which made her wonder why she even bothered drinking.

Now Haley had just picked Ivy up and they were in the car driving to Haley's.

"Aunt Haley, does my Mommy and Peyton love each other?" Ivy asked innocently, and Haley almost stalled the car in surprise.

"Where did you hear that?" Haley asked softly.

"Peyton came to our house earlier, and she said that she still loves Mommy, but that's not enough. What does that mean?"

"That's grown-up stuff sweetie, you're too young to understand."

Ivy sighed.

"But Mommy loves Peyton too."

"I know, sweetie."

"So they do love each other? I thought that it was a lady and a man who love each other, can two ladies love each other?" Ivy asked in curiosity.

"Oh Ivy, you are so inquisitive." Haley said, pulling the car into the side of the road. "You're a very smart, very grown up, little girl, so I'm going to be honest with you. Two ladies can love each other if they want to, it's just more common for a lady and man to love each other, but occasionally two ladies, or two men, can be in love."

"So Mommy and Peyton are in love?"

"That's a long story, Ivy."

"If you don't tell me I'll just keep asking you questions…" Ivy said, sneakily.

Haley laughed. Ivy was so wise beyond her years.

"Okay, yes, your Mommy and Peyton are in love, but they had a really big argument before you were born and Peyton moved away, and now they can't even be friends."

"I like Peyton, I want them to be friends."

"So does everyone, sweetie, we want them to be each other's girlfriend actually" Haley started, she had to explain this in language that Ivy would understand, "but unfortunately it's not that easy." She finished.

"Why not?" Ivy asked sadly.

"It just isn't, sweetie…" Haley started, but then her phone rang, interrupting her conversation with Ivy.

* * *

"Okay, so if we can get Alex Dupre over here to play a show, then get a few unsigned acts to support her, then if we sign some of the unsigned acts we'll already have generated some local buzz…" Peyton said, pointing a few things out on her laptop screen to Alistair and Katie, when Haley walked into the office, Ivy perched on her hip.

Peyton looked up from her lap top and smiled. "Ivy Sawyer Davis, imagine seeing you here!"

"Peyton Sawyer, I came to see you!"

"You did huh? Well I'm glad you did since we didn't get to hang out earlier."

"Yeah…" Ivy sighed, then Haley put her down, and she ran over to Peyton and scrambled up onto her lap. Haley smiled, it was so nice to see how easily Ivy had taken to Peyton. "I'm sorry you and Mommy can't be friends." Ivy finished sadly, and Peyton furrowed her brows and looked at Haley.

"She heard you guys at Brooke's place today." Haley shrugged, and Peyton closed her eyes and threw her head back. "Fuck…"

"Mommy said it's not nice to say curse words, Peyton," Ivy scalded her, and everyone in the room laughed.

"Anyway…" Peyton said, looking at Haley.

"Yeah, um, listen Peyt, do you think you could watch Ivy for a few hours. I said I'd take her so Brooke could recover from her 'wine flu', but Nathan just called, he and the kids were at the river court and Lydia fell, he thinks she's broken her arm. They're at the emergency room, but there's a three hour wait and my baby's been crying for me, and Nathan cant calm her down, and I don't to have Ivy sitting in a hospital all day." Haley explained, and Peyton nodded her head.

"Of course I will, yeah! You don't mind hanging out with me, do you Ivy?"

"Nope." Ivy smiled.

"Thank-you so much Peyton! Skills and the guys are still drunk from last night, and Lucas and Lindsey are MIA somewhere, or I wouldn't have asked."

"It's no problem, Hales. I'll take her to my hotel and she can hang out and watch TV and eat lots of ice cream from room service." Peyton said and Ivy's face lit up at the prospect of ice cream.

"I'll text Brooke and let her know where Ivy is and where you're staying. She told me she'd pick her up around six. I owe you, Peyton."

"Tell her to go to the reception desk and tell them who she is and a porter will bring her up to my room. Go get your baby girl, Hales, we will be fine."

"Thank-you, Peyton!"

* * *

"Brooke Davis, I'm looking for Peyton Sawyer's room. She's babysitting my daughter." Brooke said at the reception desk in Peyton's hotel.

It was 6:30pm and she was feeling better now, and she was a lot more fresh looking after showering and putting on some proper clothing.

"Oh yes, Miss Sawyer said you'd be coming by. One second and I'll have someone take you upstairs." The woman behind the desk smiled.

A few moments later, a man in a fancy suit was escorting her into a lift.

When they reached Peyton's floor, they stepped off the lift into a small hall with two large suites on it. The man swiped a card into Peyton's suite door, and the door opened just enough so Brooke could hear the loud music blasting from the room.

She reached into her pocket to tip the man, but he stopped her.

"No no, Miss Sawyer has already taken care of that." He smiled, and Brooke smiled back.

Noticing that no one had come to the door, Brooke realised that Peyton and Ivy obviously hadn't heard the door opening because of the music.

She pushed the door opened and walked in, and she had to hold in a laugh at the scene in front of her.

'_Hey I just met you, and this is crazy, so here's my number, so call me maybe'_

Peyton and Ivy where jumping and dancing on the sofa, using hairbrushes as microphones, singing very loudly along with the music.

"Well well, who knew Peyton Sawyer was a Carly Rae Jepsen fan." Brooke said loudly over the music, and Peyton and Ivy turned around to face Brooke, completely startled.

"Jesus Christ, Brooke!" Peyton shrieked.

"Mommy!" Ivy smiled, jumping down from the sofa and running over to hug Brooke. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, munchkin. Did you have a good time with Peyton?"

By this time Peyton had turned the music down and had joined Brooke and Ivy by the door.

"Yeah, I had the best time! Did you know that Peyton knows lots and lots of famous people, and that this hotel gives her lots of free ice cream?" Ivy said with enthusiasm.

"Oh sweetie, that's not free." Peyton laughed, and Brooke looked at her and laughed too.

"You ready to go, munchkin?" Brooke asked, and Ivy shook her head no before running off to get her converse, her jacket, and her backpack.

While Ivy was gone, Brooke and Peyton made small talk until Ivy returned with her converse and her jacket on and her backpack over her shoulder.

"Ready Mommy." She smiled, and Brooke lifted her up and perched her on her hip.

"Say thank-you to Peyton for looking after you."

"Thank-you Peyton, I had the best time." She smiled, showing off her teeth.

"I had a nice time too, honey."

"Mommy, can I hang out with Peyton again?" Ivy asked, her eyes and her voice full of hope.

"Well, if it's okay with Peyton…" Brooke said.

Ivy looked at Peyton with big puppy dog eyes and Peyton smiled. "Of course it's okay with me."

"When?"

"Well how about you tell your Mommy when you want to hang out with me, then we can arrange something?" Peyton said, and Brooke nodded.

"Yes, you tell me when you want to hang out with Peyton, and I'll tell Aunt Haley, and Aunt Haley can let Peyton know." Brooke said, and Peyton nodded.

"Okay, well we better get going. Thanks for looking after her, Peyton." Brooke smiled, and she turned to open the door.

Peyton bit her lip in question, then her voice stopped Brooke.

"Hey Brooke…" She started, and Brooke turned around. "I know things are complicated between us, but we were best friends at one point in our lives, so I guess it would be okay if we could try to be friends while I'm here, if you want to, at least for Ivy's sake?" She said nervously, and Brooke smiled.

"You mean that?"

Peyton nodded, then reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "You got a pen?"

Brooke reached into her purse then handed Peyton a pen and Peyton scribbled something onto the piece of paper.

"You don't have to go through Haley; here's my number, call me whenever Ivy want's to hang out, any time."

She handed Brooke the piece of paper, and Brooked down at it, then back at Peyton, the happiness in her eyes very obvious.

"Thank-you, Peyton." Brooke said with appreciation, and Peyton bit her lip again and nodded.


	8. Peter Rabbit

"So, Kelsie said that she's kissed_ this_ many boys," Ivy started, holding up four fingers, "But I don't believe her because _everyone _knows that kissing boys make's your teeth fall out, and she's still got_ all_ of her teeth," she finished, chatting away idly, as she and Peyton sat on a bench on the boardwalk, eating ice-cream.

Peyton had been in town from a month now, and for the past three weeks, she and Ivy had been hanging out a lot.

The teenaged girl who worked in Karen's Café had decided to leave to focus on her studies, and Brooke had to cover some of the extra shifts until she found a replacement, but instead of Haley taking Ivy for those three days Brooke had to work, Peyton had taken her for a few hours after school, and out for the day on the Saturday.

But when Brooke found a replacement to work at the Café, Ivy asked if she could still hang out with Peyton after school, so Brooke and Peyton came to an arrangement that Peyton could pick Ivy up from school on a Wednesday, and take her out for the day on a Saturday.

She just hoped Peyton would keep in contact, and come back to visit, when she eventually went back to LA.

Alistair and Katie had stayed around to work at the office, allowing Peyton to spend time with her friends and Ivy, all they needed was Peyton's guidance on some things, and the rest of the time was hers.

It was Wednesday afternoon, and Peyton had picked Ivy up from school and taken her for ice-cream.

"Your teeth fall out, huh?" Peyton laughed, and Ivy tilted her head and looked up at her.

"_Duh_, Peyton! My Mommy told me that, and my Mommy knows _everything._" Ivy replied.

"Your Mommy _thinks_ she knows everything." Peyton laughed softly, and Ivy narrowed her eyes at her. "Sorry. Anyway, if it is, in fact, true that your teeth fall out when you kiss boys, where are those two missing teeth of yours, Tiny Davis? Peyton challenged.

"I didn't kiss any boys, Peyton!" Ivy exclaimed.

"Didn't say that you did, I was merely…making an observation…" Peyton shrugged, trying to hold in her laugh.

Ivy looked at her for a few seconds and Peyton could see the cogs turning in her little head.

"Do have all of your teeth because you kiss girls?" She asked innocently, and Peyton almost choked on a bite of her ice-cream.

"What…how do you?.." Peyton started, having no idea what to say.

Ivy just stared at her.

"Well, does your Aunt Haley have all of her teeth?" Peyton asked, thinking she had found a way of ending the conversation.

"Yes…"

"And she kisses your Uncle Nathan, so…"

"So… your teeth don't really fall out when you kiss boys?" Ivy asked.

"What do you think?" Peyton replied, raising an eyebrow at the little girl.

"You still kiss girls though, Aunt Haley told me." Ivy said, sticking her tongue out at Peyton.

"Aunt Haley told you I kiss girls? Really?" Peyton asked, sceptical that Haley had actually said those words.

"Well, no, not exactly. She said that you and Mommy used to love each other, but then you had a fight, and I figured that if two girls love each other, like you and Mommy did, then they obviously kiss each other." Ivy explained.

Peyton had to commend her, she was a smart kid.

"Aunt Haley told you that?" Peyton asked again to clarify.

"Yeah, but she could have just told me that you and Mommy kiss girls, and that you used to kiss each other. She talks to me like I'm five!" Ivy complained, holding up five fingers.

"Ivy, you _are_ five." Peyton laughed.

"But I'm not stupid." Ivy replied in a sing-song tone of voice, and Peyton laughed again.

"Come on, smart-ass, let's get you home."

. . .

"Mommy, I'm home!" Ivy yelled, as she and Peyton walked into Brooke's house.

"Ivy Sawyer Davis, what are the rules about yelling in the house?" Brooke yelled back from the kitchen, even though Ivy would still hear here if she spoke at a normal volume, and Ivy giggled quietly while looking up at Peyton.

"The rules are; use my inside voice, because you're already deaf enough from listening to me crying when I was a baby." Ivy said, deadpan.

"Exactly." Brooke said, walking out of the kitchen and into the living room. "Hi silly rabbit." Brooke said, opening her arms out, and Ivy ran to her.

Brooke scooped her up into her arms and gave her an Eskimo kiss.

"Hi Mommy." Ivy smiled.

Brooke put Ivy down and turned to Peyton.

"So how's she been?"

"A joy as ever." Peyton smiled.

"Mommy, you kiss girls." Ivy said, interrupting the conversation, and Brooke's eyes widened.

"That was all Haley." Peyton said quickly, holding her hands up. She definitely wasn't taking the blame for that one.

"Also, your teeth don't fall out when you kiss boys." Ivy added, and Peyton put her head down.

"That one may have been me…"

Brooke shook her head, then laughed out loud.

"Go and put your backpack and your shoes in your bedroom please." She said to Ivy, trying to pretend that she wasn't finding the situation funny, then Ivy ran into her bedroom.

"So I bet that was a fun conversation…" Brooke said, her hands in the pockets of her jean shorts, as she awkwardly rocked back and forth on her feet.

"Oh very." Peyton laughed, then Ivy was back in the room.

"Mommy, what did you make me for dinner?!" The little girl asked, yelling again.

"_Inside voice._"

"Sorry." Ivy said, looking at Peyton and giggling again, thinking Brooke couldn't see her.

"I got burgers and I was thinking we could go outside and grill them since it's a nice evening." Brooke smiled at her daughter.

The weather was changing and summer was starting to set in, so the temperature was both hot, and cool, enough to have a nice evening eating dinner out on the patio.

"My favourite!" Ivy smiled, then she looked up at Brooke with puppy dog eyes. "Hey Mommy, can Peyton stay for dinner?"

"Oh Ivy, I don't…" Peyton started, but Brooke cut her off.

"Well there's more than enough food, so if you don't have any other plans..."

"I wouldn't want to impose, so only if you want me to." Peyton said.

"Of course I do, I'd really like it if you stayed." Brooke said quietly, blushing slightly.

"_Please_, Peyton." Ivy smiled widely, and Peyton melted at the two girls standing in front of her.

"Okay, I'll stay." Peyton smiled, and Ivy jumped up and down with excitement. "Yay! You want to see my drawing book, Peyton?"

Ivy dragged Peyton away by the hand, and Brooke watched, a huge smile gracing her face, and a warm feeling filling her heart that she hadn't felt for years.

. . .

"So, if you colour over this part here, then make it a little darker here, then you get a cool shadow effect, see." Peyton said to Ivy, the little girl sitting on her lap as they drew a picture together.

They were sitting out on the patio as the sun was setting, and Brooke had just cleared away their dinner plates.

The brunette walked outside again, and watched the two girls she loved the most in the world.

"What are you two up to?" She smiled.

"Drawing." Ivy smiled, looking up and staring at Brooke for a few seconds. "Hey Mommy, you look very pretty when you wear your summer clothes. Doesn't she look pretty, Peyton?"

Peyton looked up, and her hand went to the back of her head in an awkward gesture.

Brooke did look pretty, but should she say so?

When she saw the expectant look on Ivy's face, she knew she had to.

"Yes Ivy, your Mom looks pretty. You look very pretty Brooke."

Brooke giggled at Peyton's awkward tone of voice.

"Why thank-you Peyton."

The evening passed, the girls talking, laughing, and drawing together, and Ivy was starting to fall asleep.

"Come on, munchkin, let's get you to bed." Brooke said, lifting Ivy up, and the little girl rested her head on her shoulder.

"Can Peyton tuck me in?" Ivy asked, sleepily.

"Sure sweetie, if she doesn't mind." Brooke smiled.

"Of course I don't mind."

Brooke lifted Ivy into bed while Peyton cleared up outside and brought Ivy's drawing stuff into the house.

When she went into Ivy's room, the little girl was in bed and Brooke was reading her a story.

"Come listen, Peyton." Ivy said, motioning her over with her hand.

Peyton sat at the end of the bed and listened as Brooke read animatedly to her daughter.

"Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail, who were good little bunnies, went down the lane to gather blackberries: But Peter, who was very naughty, ran straight away to Mr. McGregor's garden, and squeezed under the gate."

"Peter Rabbit's a very silly rabbit, Peyton." Ivy giggled.

"Sleep, Ivy." Brooke said, then continued reading the book.

By the time she was finished reading, the little girl was asleep.

"The tale of Peter Rabbit, I remember my Mom reading that to me when I was little." Peyton smiled as they walked back out into the living room.

"I know, that's kind of why I read it to Ivy, I remembered that it was your favourite book when you were her age." Brooke admitted quietly.

"You remembered that?" Peyton asked, slightly in awe of the brunette, as they stood face to face in the living room.

"Of course I do. I remember everything about you…" Brooke started, but Peyton's phone beeped and she pulled it out of her pocket to read the text.

She read the text, sighed in annoyance, then put it back in her pocket.

"Alistair and Katie giving you a headache?" Brooke smiled.

"I wish. It's this psycho of a girl that I was briefly seeing, she went crazy at me in a bar because I wouldn't commit to a relationship with her, but now she wont stop texting me. Crazy bitch and a half." Peyton explained casually, forgetting it was Brooke that she was talking to.

"You dated in LA?" Brooke asked, her tone of voice showing that the thought made her sad.

Peyton looked up and saw the look in her eyes.

"Brooke, don't…"

"I'm sorry, it's just…"

"Don't. We've had a nice evening, and we're trying to be friends, just…don't." Peyton said sternly, and Brooke closed her eyes and sighed.

"You're right, I'm sorry, that just stung a little." Brooke apologised.

Peyton just smiled weakly as she walked over to the couch and picked up her purse.

"I better get going. I had a nice time, Brooke."

"I did too, maybe we can do it again?" Brooke smiled.

"I'd like that."

Peyton gave Brooke a quick awkward hug, then she was gone, leaving Brooke standing there staring after her.

* * *

**Reviews= :D**

**Also, Chapter 17 of 'While Deep Inside You're Bleeding' is up now! **


	9. Trip to the Zoo

"So, how goes the office rejuvenation?" Peyton asked, walking into the office on Saturday morning.

"Hey, we weren't expecting to see you today." Katie smiled, as Peyton sat down on the side of the desk.

"I just thought I'd stop by on my way over to Brooke's, just to see how things are going."

"Well, things are going fabulous actually…" Alistair started, then Haley cut him off.

"We organised an open mic night in Tric for this Friday, as you know, and tickets are selling like wild fire, so here's hoping we find some people we can sign. Also, we were thinking of posting a job advert for someone to run things here Monday to Friday, what do you think?"

"Awesome! Um, wait a few weeks before you post anything about Jobs, Mia's back from her tour in two weeks and she said she wants to take a break and try some producing, so let me talk to her first." Peyton smiled.

"Sure thing, Boss." Haley smiled. "So what are you up to, today?"

"Taking Ivy out for the day, I'm not sure where to though, I'll probably just let her choose."

"Actually Peyton, could I talk to you about that…?" Haley asked, and Peyton nodded her head before following Haley into the studio for some privacy.

"What's up, Hales?"

"Peyt, Ivy's grown attached to you; you can't let that kid down." Haley said seriously.

"What? Who said I was going to let her down. I'm there for her when I say I'm going to be, how is that letting her down?" Peyton said, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"That's not what I mean." Haley started. "Look, she's grown so attached to you, and eventually you're going to go back to LA…"

"Hales, don't you think I've thought about that?!"

"Peyt, don't be mad, I'm not trying to be a bitch. I just don't want Ivy to get hurt…"

Peyton sighed.

"I'm going to come back and visit, you know…I was actually thinking of buying an apartment, I have a viewing booked for Tuesday. Staying at the hotel is kind of uncomfortable, plus, if I own a place here I can visit as often as I like without having to worry about hotels and stuff, and I'll be around more in the office."

Haley smiled wide.

"Oh my God, Peyton, that's great!"

"Satisfied that I'm not going to let Ivy down now?" Peyton asked, slightly bitchy.

"Yeah… Peyt I'm sorry, I just…"

"I know, I get why you said it, it's cool."

Peyton went to walk away, but Haley's voice stopped her again.

"What about Brooke?"

"What about her?"

"Well, do you think anything will happen; I mean, if you're going to be here often now? Because you know she loves you, right?" Haley asked.

"You know what she did to me six years ago, right?" Peyton said.

"Peyt, I know, but do you know how much she regrets that? Well, except for adopting Ivy."

"Hales…"

"No, you have to hear this, because no one else seems to want to tell you. I know what a mess you were because of her; Katie and Alistair told me, and I understand why you would be afraid now…"

"I'm not afraid of her, Haley."

"Sure, keep telling yourself that." Haley said sarcastically. "Anyway, I get why you're keeping her at arm's length. But did you know she's only been a shadow of herself since she lost you?"

That got Peyton's attention.

"Did you know that when she lost you she lost that fire, and that attitude, that she once had. She became a Mom to Ivy, and for five years, that's all she's been, a Mom; because it's the only thing that made her happy. Then she heard you were coming back and suddenly she had this moment where that fire and that attitude was back, and you want to know why? Because when you left, you took her heart with you, and when you came back, you brought her heart back too, doesn't that mean something to you." Haley continued. "And let me tell you something Peyton, she may not show it, but you being back here is making her happier than she's ever been. She keeps it all inside in case you see it and run for the hills, but when you spend time with Ivy, it makes her so happy, because you and Ivy are the only people in the world that make her happy. I know you're scared, but you have to consider Brooke too, don't get her hopes up if you have no intention of anything ever happening, because you know she hopes that something will?"

Peyton thought about Haley's words for a few seconds.

"Yes, of course that means something to me, it means more to me than you know actually, because regardless of what you may think, I actually love her too, I always have. But imagine if you were in my position…"

"I know Peyt…"

"I'm not saying Brooke and I will never happen Hales, okay, I can't say that because I don't know, I have to just wait and see… But it won't be right now, and it won't be for a while. Brooke shattered my trust, Hales, you have to remember that. But I'll be visiting a lot now; I'll see her, and Ivy, as often as I can, so I'm pretty sure I won't be letting them down." Peyton said matter of factly, letting Haley know that was the end of the conversation.

Haley nodded, trying to hold in a smile after Peyton's 'never say never' speech. "Okay, thank-you Peyton. I knew you wouldn't let them down, but I just wanted to talk to you anyway."

"Yeah yeah, you were prying, more like." Peyton laughed.

"I was not!"

"Yeah, you were. Now don't you have an open mic night to organise?"

* * *

"Good morning, tiny." Peyton smiled, a cup of coffee in one hand, another one for Brooke in the other, as Ivy opened the front door.

"I'm not that tiny, Lydia's tinier than me!" Ivy exclaimed, stepping aside so Peyton could walk into the house.

"Lydia's three, dude... Where's your Mom?"

"In her bedroom…frog face." Ivy said, in retaliation to Peyton calling her tiny.

"You did not just call me frog face…"

"Kind of did…"

"Dude, you're five!"

Peyton walked into Brooke's bedroom, knocking the door first, laughing at Ivy.

"You do know your kid just called me a frog, right?"

Brooke burst out laughing. "She's kind of right…"

"I did buy you a coffee, but you're not getting it now!"

Brooke reached out for the coffee, but Peyton walked backwards.

"Gimme that coffee right now…"

"No! Not until you say I'm not a frog!"

Peyton walked backwards until her back hit the wall, and Brooke stood directly in front of her, their noses almost touching.

"Gimme my coffee."

"No."

"But I really _really_ need a coffee."

"No. Not until you say I'm not a frog."

"Fine…" Brooke started; she was going to take this opportunity to really play with Peyton. "You don't look like a frog; you're very hot, and very _very _sexy, and when I'm this close to you, it's not the coffee that I want." She finished, her voice seductive and husky.

Peyton gulped audibly, and handed Brooke the cup with a shaky hand. "Here's your coffee."

"Haha, I win! You should have just given me the coffee."

"That's a cruel little game, Brooke." Peyton said, still nervous from Brooke's words and closeness.

"Who said I was playing…?" Brooke whispered in Peyton's ear, before quickly moving away into the living room.

"Brooke, we're friends." Peyton called after her, but it fell on deaf ears.

"Ivy, go put your shoes and jacket on, and get your backpack."

After getting ready, Ivy and Peyton were about to leave, when the little girl turned to Peyton with a serious look on her face.

"Peyton, would it be okay if we asked Mommy to come along today? She doesn't have anything else to do, and I was thinking it would be nice if she hung out with us."

"Ummm…" Peyton began, but Brooke cut her off.

"Oh Ivy, this is your day to hang out with Peyton, maybe you two should just go along without me."

"Don't be crazy Brooke, if Ivy wants you to come along then you totally should, it's cool with me." Peyton smiled.

"Really?"

"Definitely! I mean, your already dressed and stuff, so you don't really have a reason not to. Come on, it'll be fun."

Brooke smiled wide. "Okay, awesome! Just give me five minutes to get my jacket and my purse."

"Hey Ivy, since your Mom's coming along, what do you say we go to the Zoo and the Aquarium?"

"Yay! Awesome!" The little girl cried happily.

. . .

"These little guy's are called Sun Bear's, Ivy, because that shape they have on their chest kind of looks like the shape of the rising sun, you see that?" Peyton said, as they stood in an indoor enclosure looking at the little Sun Bears.

Peyton was crouching behind Ivy, bent down to her level, and the little girl was leaning against her.

"They're really cute, huh?" Ivy said.

"They are." Peyton smiled.

"Oh my god, Peyton, did you see what that one just did with its tongue?!" Ivy said with excitement.

"Yeah, Sun Bears have really big tongues so it's easy for them to get food…" Peyton started to explain.

"What do they eat?"

"Well Sun Bears are a little like Pooh Bear and they eat honey from trees."

Ivy's eyes widened in amazement.

"I like the Sun Bears, Peyton!"

"Well maybe we'll see if we can get you a Sun Bear stuffed animal on the way out."

Brooke was standing back, watching them.

Seeing Ivy and Peyton bonding made her swell with pride and happiness.

She could get used to the three of them like this, for sure.

And how amazing Peyton was with Ivy just made Brooke love her more.

She took her phone out of her purse, "Let's get a photo of you two and the Sun Bears for your memory box, huh Ivy?" She smiled.

Brooke got a picture of Peyton and Ivy, Peyton crouched down, smiling and looking up at Ivy, while the little girl was leaning over Peyton's shoulder, making a funny face, the Sun Bears in the back ground.

Brooke smiled at the photo of the two girls she loved the most, before discreetly setting it as her wallpaper and screensaver.

. . .

"She's out like a light." Brooke said, turning around in the front seat of the Comet, to look at Ivy who was asleep in her booster seat in the back.

After spending the day at the zoo and the aquarium, then going for dinner, they were now on the way home and Ivy had fallen asleep clutching her new Sun Bear stuffed animal.

"She hasn't let that bear out of her sight all afternoon." Peyton laughed.

"She loves it… although she wasn't very pleased in the bathroom when I told her she couldn't call it Peyton." Brooke laughed back.

"Why not, Peyton's an awesome name for a stuffed animal!"

"Because she already has a real life Peyton."

"Yeah, but I'm not a Sun Bear." Peyton laughed again. "Hey Brooke, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, ask away, my dear."

"Are you worried that I'm going to let Ivy down when I go back to LA?"

"What, no! Where did you get that from!?" Brooke exclaimed, shocked.

"Nowhere, I just…" She didn't want to get Haley into any trouble.

"Peyt, when you go back, she'll miss you like crazy, but you'll come back and visit, right?" Brooke asked.

"Well, I was actually thinking of buying an apartment here, so I can come visit as often as I can, you know?" Peyton started.

Brooke's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah, I have a viewing for a place on Tuesday at 11am, and I was wondering, well, if you're not busy, you could maybe come with me?" Peyton asked, hesitantly.

"You want me to come with you?" Brooke asked, trying to keep her voice steady so Peyton couldn't hear her excitement.

"Well, yeah, I mean, you have more style than anyone I know, so I figured you'd be good at this stuff. But, if you're too busy then that's okay too…"

"I'm not busy, not at all. I'd love to come with you." Brooke smiled.

"Awesome. Sorted then."

. . .

After arriving at Brooke's house, Peyton got out of the car and lifted Ivy out, while Brooke opened the door to the house so Peyton could carry the little girl in.

Peyton laid her down on the couch, then went into the kitchen to say goodbye to Brooke.

"I'm glad you came with us today, I had a really nice time." Peyton smiled, and Brooke smiled back.

"I'm glad I did too, today was a really awesome day. Ivy loves you."

"I love her too, you did such an amazing job with her. So, I'm going to get going. But we're definitely on for Tuesday, yeah?"

"Definitely, just text me the details." Brooke smiled.

"Oh, did Haley say to you about the open mic night in Tric this Friday?" Peyton asked.

"She did, I'll be there, Ivy's staying at Haley's house with Deb." Brooke smiled.

"Awesome, I'll be there too...obviously."

They walked to the front door, and Peyton opened it.

"Well, thanks again for a nice day." Peyton said, slightly awkwardly, and Brooke smiled and nodded, but as Peyton went to walk away, Brooke called after her.

"Peyton…?"

The blonde turned around, and Brooke grabbed her and very gently pressed her lips against hers.

It was the gentlest kiss, lips only just touching, but it was enough to send sparks jolting between them.

It ended far too soon for Brooke's liking.

"Brooke, we're friends…" Peyton said, her eye's still closed, obviously savouring the kiss, which totally contradicted what she was trying to say.

Brooke smiled. "Totally worth it."

Peyton left, and as soon as the door closed behind her she leant against it and sighed, but she couldn't remove the smile that had appeared on her face, no matter how hard she tried. This being friends thing was harder than she thought it was going to be.

* * *

**Reviews make the world go round…**


	10. Apartment Shopping

**Hey guys, dipping into the review bag today to answer a query;**

**Strawyer Guest: The frog face thing wasn't about Peyton's looks, she definitely doesn't look like a frog, Hilarie Burton is fucking gorgeous!, which I'm sure you agree with me about :) I was just thinking of an insult a five year old would use, as Ivy was retaliating to Peyton calling her tiny, and frog face is one my niece hit me with a few weeks ago, which I thought was pretty funny :)**

**To everyone who was confused, Sun Bears are little bears, they're really small compared to Grizzly's and stuff, kind of like pooh bear, and they are seriously cute as hell… Google them. They're kind of rare though, and the only zoo's I know that have them are Edinburgh Zoo (my local zoo :P), and Oregon Zoo. **

**And… OMG, Hilarie Burton in Thursday night's Grey's! I've watched that kiss over and over so many times this weekend! Peyton's a lesbian!  
Seriously though, Hilarie Burton and Jessica Capshaw, OMG, just...WOW!  
I mean, Callie is sweet and all, but fuck me Dr Lauren Boswell… I'd cheat with her too. Hilarie Burton, delighting fans everywhere, yet again :)**

* * *

Staring out of the living room window, Brooke tapped her foot anxiously waiting for Peyton to pick her up to go view an apartment.

After dropping Ivy off at school, Brooke rushed home to get ready and ended up being fifteen minutes early.

She hadn't seen Peyton since the impromptu kiss the previous Saturday, and although they had texted to finalize plans, it hadn't been mentioned.

But Brooke had gone all out today to make sure she drove Peyton wild.

It was another warm day in Tree Hill, and Brooke had styled her mid length hair so it fell in soft waves. She put on a white sun dress which dipped at her breasts; not enough to be considered revealing, but enough to make Peyton look. Then she finished her look with a pale blue blazer, black heels, and a black clutch purse. She glammed her make-up up a bit more than usual.

She was sun chic, and she knew she looked good.

It had been a long time since she'd felt that good about herself, but Peyton just seemed to bring it out in her; maybe because she was trying to impress the blonde.

Peyton wasn't due to pick her up for another ten minutes, but Brooke couldn't tear her eyes away from the window as she nervously waited on the blonde.

This was the first time they'd properly be alone since Peyton came back and Brooke couldn't help but be nervous.

She heard the loud rumble of music, then she saw the black rental Audi R8 speed down the street and draw to an abrupt halt outside her house.

Peyton was early.

That was always a good sign.

Brooke rushed away from the window and sat on the couch and picked up a magazine, hoping the blonde hadn't seen her staring out the window.

How uncool would that be?

She wanted to appear cool and collected.

Brooke opened the magazine and flicked through a few pages, then she heard the knock on the door.

She took a deep breath then swung the door opened, and there Peyton was, standing there in all her beautiful glory, and every effort Brooke had to remain cool and collected became futile.

Peyton had obviously gone to extra lengths today, just like Brooke had, and Brooke became dry at the mouth.

Her hair was styled much the same as Brooke's, only Peyton's hair was longer and slightly straighter. She was wearing ripped skinny jeans, a red low cut vest top, which, although Peyton had small breasts, was still showing off her assets, and a leather jacket which Brooke recognized as Ellie's. But what got Brooke most was that she was wearing those sexy black Louboutin's she'd been wearing the day she came back to town.

Those damn Louboutin's!

And just as Brooke opened the door, Peyton had been taking her sunglasses off.

"Um, uh, um…Hi." Brooke stuttered, clearly flustered.

Peyton raised an eyebrow.

"Good Morning, B Davis, how are we today?" She smirked slightly.

"Do, do you want to come in, I just have to grab a few things?" Brooke said, stepping aside.

Peyton walked into the house, and it didn't go unnoticed by Brooke that the blonde's eye's darted downwards, staring at her cleavage, as she walked past her into the living room.

Brooke smirked before shutting the front door.

Mission accomplished and they'd only been in each other's company for a minute.

"You're still driving the R8 when I gave you your Comet back? I have a good mind to take that car back, you know." Brooke said, putting her phone and her lip-gloss into her purse.

"Hey, it's my car, you were just babysitting it. And I have the R8 on lease until the end of the month, so I figured I might as well get my money's worth out of it. Plus, I thought you'd appreciate driving around in a fancy car today." Peyton explained.

"Oh you know me so well, P Sawyer." Brooke smiled.

"I do indeed." Peyton commented. "You ready to go?"

Brooke nodded her head yes, and Peyton moved to open the front door, holding it opened for Brooke.

And in a dangerous, but totally worth it, move, Brooke purposely brushed up against the blonde as she walked out the door, noticing the fact that Peyton had to close her eyes and count to three.

'Just friends, my ass.' Brooke mused to herself.

They got in the car, and Peyton put her sunglasses back on, started up the engine, put some music on; some Pitbull, which was very much to Brooke's liking, then put her foot down and the car sped off down the road.

Brooke watched Peyton as she drove, and she licked her lips in appreciation.

Peyton was so damn sexy words couldn't even begin to describe it.

"So hot." Brooke whispered quietly, then panicked when she realized she'd said it out loud.

Luckily, the blonde didn't hear her over the music.

Brooke put the window down, rested her elbow on the ledge, and leaned back against her seat with a smile on her face.

This was definitely up there in her idea of perfection.

. . .

Peyton drew to stop outside a block of luxury beachfront apartments, close to the promenade.

They met the Realtor outside, and she took them into the elevator and pressed the button for a top floor apartment.

She opened the front door to a large, airy, bright, open plan space.

Two of the walls were made of floor to ceiling length windows overlooking the beach and the promenade below. Among these was a set of patio doors which led out to a large balcony.

The floor was dark, glossy, wooden flooring, and the rest of the walls were white, with black finishing's throughout.

On first appearances, Peyton and Brooke were both very impressed.

"So, first impressions?" The Realtor smiled.

"How is this place even on the market?!" Peyton exclaimed.

"The owner's wife is pregnant with their third child, they bought a house in the country." The Realtor smiled.

"So, this has been a family apartment, I mean…?" Peyton started, and Brooke looked at her in surprise, but the Realtor spoke before she could finish her sentence.

"Oh yes, it's a great location for kids, there's a beach right outside, there's an elevator for push chair's and stuff, private car parking right outside." She smiled, "Are you two looking for a family home?"

Peyton stiffened visibly, causing Brooke's heart to sink slightly.

"Oh, we're not together." Brooke said, wanting to just move past the situation.

"Oh, you're not? I'm so sorry, It's just you two look so, I just assumed you were… I'm sorry, I thought you two were together." The Realtor said with embarrassment.

"It's okay, don't worry about it." Brooke smiled awkwardly, then quickly walked away over to the kitchen area, making it very obvious that the Realtor had just stumbled upon a touchy subject.

"I'm sorry." The Realtor said quietly to Peyton. She was usually so good at reading these things, it was a skill she'd picked up through the job.

"It's fine, honestly, it's just a sensitive topic." Peyton smiled genuinely, and the Realtor relaxed a little bit.

There was obviously something between these two women.

"So, over here is the kitchen area. Everything in here has just been replaced with top of the range appliances…" The Realtor said, walking over to the kitchen to join Brooke, putting an end to the awkward conversation.

After showing them the rest of the apartment; three large bedrooms, the master of which was on-suite with a hot-tub, a large bathroom with a rainfall shower, a utility room, and an office, the Realtor asked them what they thought of the place.

"What do you think, Brooke, you have an eye for this stuff?" Peyton smiled.

"It's your place P Sawyer, what do you think?"

Peyton bit her lip. "I know this is the first place we've seen, but I love it!" She said with excitement.

"Me too, it's pretty perfect, huh? You're never gonna see another place like this, let's be honest." Brooke smiled wide.

Part of Brooke's decision was because when Peyton went back to LA, she would probably give Brooke a key to the place, and she could totally see herself chilling out there when she didn't have Ivy.

"You think I should take it?" Peyton asked.

"Definitely." Brooke smiled.

"Okay, that's settled. I want to put in an offer. Has there been any other offers?" Peyton asked.

"There has, a couple put in an offer, but it's a few thousand under asking price. The owners are considering it as they are looking to sell A.S.A P; this place has been on the market for quite a while."

"I want to put in an offer; ten percent over the asking price, as long as I get a decision before the end of the day." Peyton said, her tone very business-like, giving Brooke a glimpse of what boss Peyton would be like.

And it was very hot.

"I'll see what I can do." The Realtor smiled, then went away to call the owners, leaving Brooke and Peyton to explore the place a little more.

The Realtor returned only minutes later with a smile on her face.

"Congratulation's Miss Sawyer, the place is yours."

Peyton signed some papers then the Realtor told her that everything just had to be finalized and that she should have the keys by the end of the following week, then Brooke and Peyton were on their way.

"I can't believe you got it, that place is a freaking palace!" Brooke smiled. "What now?"

"Well, everything is being finalized and I should have the keys by next Friday, but the place is kind of empty without furniture, so… shopping?"

Brooke's eyes lit up with excitement. "Shopping!"

. . .

On the way home, they were stuck in traffic on Tree Hill Main Street, and Brooke was flicking through Peyton's iPod, pleased to see that her music tastes were now somewhat varied.

Brooke had the window opened again.

"Oh my God!" Brooke laughed loudly, changing the song. "Seriously Peyton, the beach boys?!"

"Hey, I'm a record label executive, I have to have a varied taste in music!" Peyton argued.

"But the beach boys…" Brooke laughed, then went into a hysterical fit of laughter when Peyton began to sing to her.

Peyton Sawyer singing… well that was new.

"_Aruba, Jamaica, ooooo I wanna take ya, to Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty Mama!"_

As Brooke and Peyton waited in the traffic, Lindsey walked out of a shop and laughed at what she heard through Brooke's opened window.

Brooke had joined in singing with Peyton.

"_Key Largo, Montego, baby why don't we go down to Cocomo!" _

The traffic moved and Peyton drove away, and Lindsey pulled her phone out to quickly type a text to Haley.

'_I just saw the funniest thing… and it's a really really good sign! Linds x'_

Peyton dropped Brooke home in time to pick Ivy up from school.

"I had a good time today. And I have a nice, new, apartment. Thank-you Brooke." Peyton smiled, turning to Brooke before the brunette climbed out of the car.

"Any time, P Sawyer, I had a nice time too." Brooke smiled, wishing that she could lean over and kiss the blonde. But Peyton hadn't mentioned Saturdays kiss and Brooke knew that was Peyton's way of avoiding it, and she didn't want to rock the boat.

"Um, so, Friday, you're definitely coming, right?" Peyton asked, and Brooke noticed the slight nervousness in her voice.

"Course I am." She smiled wide.

"Good." Peyton smiled.

"God, look at the time. I better go or I'll be late to pick Ivy up. I had a nice time, P Sawyer. See you tomorrow when you drop Ivy home, bye." Brooke said quickly, the urge to kiss the blonde becoming stronger, then she jumped out of the car and pretty much ran into the house.

Peyton's heart sunk, and she didn't know why. She'd been the one to specify that they were just friends, but not getting a kiss had sort of disappointed her.

She leaned back against her seat and sighed.

Why did she have to make life so hard for herself?

* * *

**Reviews are awesome!**

**Also, I have to say it again. Dr Lauren Boswell… OMG!**


	11. Friday Night

**It's a long one, guys...**

**Also, I was thinking, you all probably have your own ideas about what Katie and Alistair look like, but I thought I would tell you the way I see them in my head…**

**Katie- In my head she is Krysten Ritter… don't know who that is, Google it.  
Alistair- Remember Hilarie Burton used to do Vlog's for SoGoPro with her friend Nick Grey? Well in my head, Alistair is Nick Grey, but with glasses :)**

* * *

"Okay guys, this is a big night for the Tree Hill branch of Red Bedroom. We need to find some new acts to record out of here so we can get some revenue coming in; so debriefing about behaviour, before this thing goes down…" Haley started as the whole gang, and Alistair and Katie, sat in Peyton's office having pre drinks before the open mic night at Tric.

It was Friday night, and only a little while before the event started, and Haley was giving everyone a pep talk, particularly Peyton, Alistair, and Katie.

"Doesn't a debriefing happen _after _the event?" Skills laughed.

"Whatever. You three!..." Haley started, pointing towards Peyton, Alistair, and Katie. "This will not be like that time you three took me to that house party in LA… the hangover I had after that night was horrendous, it will not be happening again!" Haley said seriously, and her three friends started laughing hysterically.

"Oh my God, Hales, that was freaking hilarious!" Peyton laughed.

"Alistair, I think Katie might be dead… Alistair!" Alistair said, mocking Haley about the night they had gotten her drunk in LA.

"Okay, okay…" Haley started, but she was cut off by Brooke.

"I'm sorry, what's this? What happened?"

Peyton stopped laughing enough to start to tell Brooke the story.

"Well, we took Haley to this house party…"

"No! I will tell them… you can add your little made up details at the end." Haley said.

"Oh my God, this is so fucking funny!" Peyton laughed.

"About a year and half ago, I was in LA for business, and we decided to go out to eat. We went to this little Turkish place, and I thought it was going to be a nice, relaxed, quiet, night. But no, as soon as we walked into the restaurant, Peyton went to the bar and came back with a bottle of Yeni Raki…" Haley started.

"Raki!" Peyton, Alistair, and Katie chanted in the background, making Haley laugh slightly.

"Now this bottle wasn't even big, so I thought between four of us it wouldn't do much damage, but how wrong I was; by the time we got to dessert I couldn't even get my food in my mouth; that stuff was lethal! I should have known then to call it a night, but no…" Haley continued, and Peyton, Alistair, and Katie were already falling off their seats with laughter.

"Someone texted Peyton when we were still in the restaurant, then the next thing I know I'm pulling up in a taxi in front of this big ass house full of people. Seriously, it was like something out of Project X. I didn't even think people still had parties like that after college, but apparently they do…"

"Whose party was that, again?" Katie asked, turning to Peyton.

Peyton was still laughing.

"Julian Bakers, remember, he had the keys to his Dad's house because his Dad was out of town location scouting."

"Oh yeah, that party was crazy." Katie commented.

"I remember walking into this house and being handed a glass of this bright green stuff, I don't even know what it was, but I drank it anyway, and that's when it all went fuzzy…" Haley continued to tell the story. "Now I don't know if this is true, but these three tell me that I was dancing on top of a Grand Piano, and that I threw up over a balcony into a swimming pool…"

"You did, because I was dancing on the piano with you!" Peyton argued, "And you totally barfed in the pool, because Katie and I were there, and our friend Jenny was holding your hair back!"

"Oh yeah, Jenny, I still have her as a friend on Facebook, she was really nice." Haley commented. "Anyway, the next thing I can remember is walking back home to Peyton's. Now, Peyton stays in a very fancy, very exclusive, neighbourhood…"

"Oh my God, I'm surprised I haven't been evicted from that street because of that night, seriously." Peyton mused.

"I know! All I can remember is being so drunk and sitting on the pavement crying because Katie was lying on the ground and wouldn't get up, I thought she was dead. And no-one would even help me because Peyton was throwing up in _someone's garden_, and Alistair was holding her hair back. We were a mess!" Haley finished, and Peyton, Alistair, and Katie were now doubled over in fits of laughter.

"Oh my God, Haley, you were amazing that night!" Katie laughed.

"I was so drunk, man…" Haley laughed herself.

"Hales, were you seriously that drunk? I don't think I have ever seen you like that?!" Brooke exclaimed in amusement.

"I have, once, when we first met, and she threw up over Dan." Nathan mused.

"Seriously guys, Carl and I were sitting in the kitchen and all we saw was this waterfall of vomit hitting the pool… it was fantastic!" Alistair laughed.

"Carl? As in the same Carl you're seeing now?" Haley asked him, and he nodded. "Oh my God, that guy? I loved him, he was so cool… well what I can remember of him." She laughed.

"Yep, that guy. He and Jenny are gay best friends. They're like Peyton and I." Alistair explained. "Wait a minute, Peyton Sawyer, wasn't the night you fucked Jenny?!" He exclaimed.

Peyton's face dropped, and she looked over at Brooke, whose face had turned white, and the brunette turned away from her.

She wasn't happy.

"Alistair, not now please…" Peyton said quietly.

Suddenly the whole atmosphere had changed, and everyone was now on edge. Peyton hadn't been the only one to notice Brooke's change in demeanour.

"Hey Peyton, the stage is all set up… Oh my God, Brooke Davis!"

Alex Dupre was headlining the open mic night, and had walked into Peyton's office at the right time, causing a distraction.

But Peyton was now intrigued as to how Alex knew Brooke.

"Alex Dupre, I don't believe it!" Brooke said happily, jumping up to hug the girl in front of her, pulling her in for a tight hug.

Brooke was very close to Alex and it was unnerving Peyton; so she was up off of her seat and walking over to Brooke and Alex to investigate.

"So…um, how do you two, um, know each other?" Peyton asked, standing next to them with her arms folded.

Brooke saw the displeased look on Peyton's face, a look she could empathise with as she had the same look when hearing about Peyton sleeping with other women in a LA. But just as the thought of Peyton with other women riled her, she decided to try and rile Peyton just as equally.

"We met when Brooke still had her clothing line. I did some modelling for her, but unfortunately the pictures were never used…" Alex explained, completely oblivious to Peyton's discomfort.

And Peyton knew that Alex was straight, but it was Brooke's reaction to her that she didn't like.

"Yeah, it was just before I handed the company over to Victoria. But I have no idea why Victoria didn't use the photos, I mean, Alex is so pretty, huh Peyton." Brooke said, and Peyton drew her an annoyed look before stomping away.

"Don't you have warm-up's to be doing, Alex?" Peyton asked in an annoyed tone.

"I'm all done…"

"Alex!"

"Okay, okay, I'll see you later, Brooke." Alex conceded, then left to go backstage again.

"Peyton…" Brooke started, but Peyton held her hand up to shh her, then walked out of the office, clearly showing Brooke that she was annoyed.

. . .

During the open mic event, Brooke didn't see Peyton, the blonde was busy talking to acts, and then when Alex was doing her set, Peyton was off sweet talking potential new acts.

The event had been a success and Peyton had managed to find three acts that she was interested in.

The event was over now and the DJ was playing, and Brooke was sitting with Alistair, Katie, Lucas, Nathan, and Skills.

"Did you guys see there's meant to be a storm blowing in tomorrow evening?" Lucas asked.

"Yeah, I did, better make provision's, huh?" Brooke answered.

"It's a storm, I'm pretty sure you guys will live." Katie laughed.

"Katie, storms here are crazy, I swear, when there's a storm here, everything closes down, it's like Armageddon!" Brooke laughed, but stopped when she saw Peyton walk across the dance floor towards them.

When the blonde reached them, Brooke tried to talk to her, but she blew her off.

"Al, I have a text from Jenny, she said she wants you to call her as soon as you can." Peyton told Alistair.

"Jenny Garvie?" Alistair asked, pulling his phone out to see that he had a lot of missed calls from his friend.

"What other Jenny do you know?"

"Right." Alistair laughed, then walked away to call the girl in question.

"Peyton…" Brooke started, but the blonde walked away across the dance floor again.

Trying to rile Peyton had clearly worked, the blonde was very obviously mad.

. . .

Brooke sighed heavily as she sat alone at the bar watching Peyton dance with Katie. They were dancing much the same as they had been that night at the gay bar, and like before, Brooke didn't like it. She also didn't like the fact that Peyton was smiling and happy with everyone else and so damn angry with her.

She was now wishing that she hadn't intentionally pissed the blonde off.

She was disturbed from her thoughts when Alistair climbed onto the bar stool next to her.

"I owe you an apology."

Brooke turned to him, her brows furrowed.

"How?"

"I came here with every intention of hating you because of what you did to Peyton, but I can't hate you, not when I did almost the same thing." He explained. "I feel your pain, Brooke."

"Alistair, what's going on?" Brooke asked, worried about the man sitting next to her.

"I was on the phone to my friend Jenny…" Alistair started, only to be cut off by Brooke.

"Ah, Jenny, Peyton's fuck buddy…"

Alistair sighed.

"Brooke, that happened once, okay, _once._ I wanted them to be more, God knows I tried to make it happen, but neither of them wanted it. What happened between Peyton and Jenny was a one-time thing, trust me." Alistair smiled.

Brooke lowered her head and nodded, she couldn't exactly argue, it wasn't her business who Peyton was with in LA, as much as she wished it was her business. She just hated to hear about it; the idea of her girl with another girl was just too much to face. "Alistair what's going on with you, why do you owe me an apology?"

"I was seeing this guy, Carl, Jenny's best friend, and in our scene in LA I sort of have a reputation for being a bit of player, so I kind of treated Carl with a cool disparity. I played hot and cold with him, hell, even Peyton and Katie think that I don't really have much feelings for him, but I do Brooke, I do. I love him! I've never felt this way before, and I was scared, so I treated him badly, and now…now…" Alistair said, his eyes welling up a little. "Jenny told me on the phone that he's met someone else Brooke, he's met someone else!"

"Oh Alistair…" Brooke said sadly, feeling sorry for the man beside her.

"I owe you an apology because I feel your pain. I lost a good one because I'm so fucking stupid!" Alistair said, completely mad at himself. "And I know his new boy, his name is Jazz, and he's a good one too, and I know that he'll treat Carl so well…"

"Hey, hey, calm down, maybe it's not too late." Brooke tried to soothe. "Do you know how Carl felt about you?"

"He liked me a lot, he wanted us to be together properly, but I kept on saying no. I'm such an idiot…" Alistair sighed, wiping the tears from his eyes and recomposing himself.

"Alistair, maybe it's not too late, maybe if you tell him how you feel and hang on in there for as long as it takes, maybe you can get him back. You just have to be honest with yourself, and with him, and don't give up hope, then maybe you two can be together again." Brooke told him, but it didn't go unnoticed to Alistair that she was paying more attention to Peyton on the dance floor.

"Maybe you should follow your own advice…" Alistair commented.

"What…?" Brooke asked in confusion.

"She loves you Brooke, she does, she's just scared." Alistair explained.

Brooke stared are Peyton while she thought about Alistair's words.

'_Maybe you should take your own advice…'_

She reached into her purse and pulled out a twenty dollar bill. "Get me a Vodka Martini, and whatever you're having. I'll be right back." She said, jumping down from her bar stool and handing Alistair the twenty.

"And Alistair…" She said, turning around as she walked away. "Thank-you."

"Thank-you too, Brooke." Alistair replied with sincerity.

. . .

Peyton and Katie were dancing face to face when Katie noticed Brooke walk up behind Peyton.

Limbo by Daddy Yankee was playing, pretty much one of the sexiest songs to grind with your girl too, with its subtle beat and Spanish lyrics.

Katie motioned to Peyton with her hand and began to move away when Brooke wrapped her arms around Peyton's waist and pressed up close behind her.

Peyton turned her head, surprise evident on her face when she saw Brooke, but she didn't move away.

"If you and Katie can dance as friends, I don't see why we can't." Brooke said, grinding into Peyton, who had firmly pressed her ass into Brooke's.

"Fine."

How Peyton and Brooke proceeded to dance was very un-friend-like indeed.

'_Y esto esta como como pa como pa como pa rumbear, pa pasarla caliente con toda mi gente, nos favorce el sol tu bronzeado y el calor, no puede estar mejor'_

"You and Brooke talking? That's new…" Katie commented, taking the vacant bar stool next to Alistair.

"You can't hate someone when you've walked a similar path in their shoes…" Alistair said absentmindedly, watching Brooke and Peyton dance with each other.

"What are you spewing about, Copernicus?" Katie laughed, raising an eyebrow at her friend.

"Carl's dating someone else." Alistair said softly.

"Oh…."

But before Katie could say anything else, all of the Tree Hill gang seemed to swarm around them, watching Brooke and Peyton on the dance floor.

Their dancing had become pretty intense, like a game of trying to out-grind the other. Brooke's hands' were roaming everywhere; the expanse of Peyton's torso, her hips, her thighs… And Peyton was grinding her ass into Brooke so hard that some would consider it foreplay… intense wasn't even the word.

"What the hell is going on over there?" Haley asked, her brows furrowed, watching her two friends engage in pseudo dance floor sex

"Power play if you ask me." Katie commented.

"You know, I was finding it hard to believe that those two were really lesbians. Like, I knew it was true, but it hadn't really hit me… Now, now it has hit me… hard." Nathan commented, his eyes glued on the dance floor. "_Jesus Christ_ has it hit me!"

Haley swatted him on the arm, knowing he was implying that it was hot. "Hey!"

"Is this really a good idea though…" Lindsey asked, worried, clearly noticing that their dance was a fight for control rather than anything else.

"I know those two, and believe me, this is a good idea…" Lucas replied. "You'll see."

Back on the dance floor, the song drew to a close, and reality seemed to snap back into focus for Peyton.

"Brooke, we're supposed to be friends…"

"We both know it's more than that Peyton, stop pretending!" Brooke argued with conviction.

"I… I can't do this, Brooke." Peyton said, tearing herself from Brooke's arms, then she was running off of the dance floor, Brooke hot on her heels.

. . .

"Peyton what the hell is going on, you run hot and cold with me, and I have no idea what the hell is in your mind!" Brooke yelled, in Peyton's office after she'd chased the blonde in there.

"What the hell is my problem?! We're supposed to be friends Brooke and you keep trying to push me…!" Peyton argued back.

"No, no we're not friends Peyton, we're more, and you know it, so stop putting your fucking guards up and let me in!"

"Stop putting my guards up? How do you suppose I do that when you flirt with my fucking artists right in front of my face!"

"Alex, seriously? She's straight Peyton… I seem to remember you telling me the same thing about Katie. And how do you think it feels for me having to hear about all the sluts you _fucked_ in LA?!" Brooke yelled, but she regretted her choice of words when she saw Peyton get even angrier.

"What does it have to do with you who I fucked and who I didn't, huh Brooke? How is it any of your business when you didn't even want me?! At least they did!" Peyton screamed at her.

"Didn't want you?! I've wanted you every single day, because I fucking love you, I always have, you know that!" Brooke screamed back.

"You always loved me? Right, I believe that." Peyton said quietly now, her tone dripping with sarcasm.

"I have Peyton, I swear, and I made a mistake when I left you, a mistake that I pay for every single day; my only respite from that mistake is when I look into Ivy's little hazel eyes… I love you Peyton, I always have. I loved you then and I love you now…" Brooke said, in front of Peyton now, holding her hands, with tears in her eyes.

Peyton looked down to the ground and let the first of her own tears fall.

"It's not all about that though, is it…" Peyton whispered quietly, alerting Brooke to the fact that she too, was crying.

"It is though Peyton, because I just want you to let me love you." Brooke pleaded.

"But it's not, Brooke, okay!" Peyton yelled, walking away from Brooke again. "You think that's why I have my guard up? Because I'm afraid that you don't love me?"

"Peyton, I…"

"I have my guard up with you because you threw me out of your life Brooke! You threw me away, you didn't care where I was going, or what was going to happen to me, as long as you got what you wanted! How do I know that you won't do that to me again?! Peyton yelled, her tears falling uncontrollably now, but it felt amazing for her to finally get that out after six years.

"Peyton, what are you…?" Brooke started, confused… and then it hit her. Peyton wasn't hurt over her walking out on her that fateful day, she was over that part now, that's why she could partially let her in. She was still hurting over all of the other stuff, the stuff that Brooke had managed to block out until now;

How she'd treated her best friend. Not Peyton the girl she loved, Peyton her best friend. How she'd tossed her away, with no regard as to where was she going to go, with no thought that her best friend had _nothing. _She'd been so cold to her, so heartless, like she didn't even care.

And it hadn't even occurred to her that it had affected Peyton more than anything.

No wonder she was putting her guard up and down; she couldn't trust her.

"Brooke I had nothing, absolutely _nothing_! And you didn't even care about me. I was like vermin to you back then, you wanted me gone, with no concern about where I was going, or if I was going to be okay. You were horrible Brooke, you… you treated me like, like I was nothing." Peyton said, sitting on the floor in front of her desk now, still crying hysterically.

She had to get all of this out of her system so it stopped eating away at her inside, and it was bringing up all of those same emotions she felt six years ago.

Brooke felt like the wind had been knocked out of her.

She had nothing to say.

No excuse of her behaviour.

Because she'd treated Peyton exactly the way the blonde had described.

So instead, she let her own heavy tears fall as she cautiously took a seat on the floor next to her girl.

"Peyton I am so, so, sorry, more than word's can tell you." She whispered, bravely reaching over to touch Peyton's arm as the blonde buried her face into her knees, her body jerking from her sobs.

Brooke waited for Peyton's reply, but nothing came.

"Peyton, I know I was selfish back then, I was so absorbed in what I wanted that you're right, I didn't care about you, or anyone else. And I have no excuse as to why I was so cold to you, I'll never be able to give you a reason for that because I'll never know. But what I do know is that I am so, _so_, sorry, Peyton, I'm so sorry. If I could take it all back and change it, then I would do it all so much better; I wanted a baby, but I could have had you too if I did it properly, and I wish, I wish I could change us, because I love you, and I'm so sorry." Brooke said, sobbing heavily now too.

"You broke my heart when you treated me like that Brooke; not when you left me, when you treated me like that." Peyton whispered through her sobs.

"Peyton please; if you let me, I'll make it all better." Brooke begged through her tears.

"I don't know Brooke…" Peyton whispered, looking up at Brooke for the first time since they'd sat down on the floor.

"Please, Peyton." Brooke whispered, her plea heavy with need, regret, and desperation, the brunette trying to cling to the hope that she would one day get Peyton back.

Peyton simply cried, unable to give Brooke an answer.

But when the brunette pulled her into her embrace, she didn't fight it, she simply buried her head into Brooke's shoulder and cried.

Six years ago, all she'd wanted was for Brooke to hug her tightly and plead with her to stay, and now that she sort of had it, she wasn't going to fight it.

* * *

**Reviews; I sort of love them…**


	12. The Storm

**Apologies for the roughness of this chapter; it's really late, i'm really tired, and it took me _hours_ to write...**

* * *

The sky had darkened to a dull, dark, grey, making the five o'clock in the evening sky look like the beginning of a winter's night.

It was Saturday, the day after the open mic night, and Brooke had only briefly heard from Peyton; she had a meeting with a potential new band and wanted to rearrange to take Ivy on Sunday, which Brooke was glad about as the storm was coming and she wanted to keep Ivy close by in case roads closed, which was common in Tree Hill, and Peyton couldn't get Ivy back home.

Apart from that though, she had heard nothing from the blonde, and Brooke knew to give her space now following last night's emotional argument.

After Peyton broke down, they'd sat on the floor in her office, Peyton crying into Brooke's shoulder, and Brooke sitting there in quiet reverie, considering everything that Peyton had said.

Yes, she'd been a horrible friend… horrible didn't even cut it actually.

And, no, she couldn't blame Peyton for not trusting her now… how could Peyton be sure she wouldn't drop her again? Brooke knew for certain that she would never _ever _do it again, but how could she convince Peyton of that? Well, she couldn't, she just had to persevere.

Alistair's words from the previous night still rang in her head.

'_She loves you, she's just scared'. _

Brooke came to the conclusion that the only thing she could give her was time.

So that's what she was doing; not badgering her with texts and phone calls. She'd been happy and grateful when she'd heard from Peyton that morning, even considering Peyton's less than jubilant tone, so she was going to wait until at least late evening before she texted her. She wanted to give her time, but she didn't want to ignore her completely… she had to let Peyton know she was thinking about her, after all.

Now, Brooke was at Haley's so Ivy could play with Jamie and Lydia.

"So, what happened last night?" Haley asked sympathetically, knowing something had happened between her two friends, judging by Brooke's demeanour.

"What do you mean?" Brooke asked, feigning ignorance, using a spoon to idly stir her coffee.

"Well you're sitting there with a bigger grey cloud over your head than those grey clouds outside, and when I called Peyton earlier to wish her luck with her meeting she sounded somewhat less than chipper… so spill!"

"Yeah yeah, Nancy Drew…" Brooke started. "I'm a bigger asshole than I'd originally thought."

"What, how?" Haley asked, furrowing her brows.

"I thought that Peyton was keeping me at a distance because I walked out on her, but as it turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong…" Brooke droned, sadly.

"Brooke, what did you do?" Haley said softly, but somewhat sternly.

Brooke heaved a large sigh.

"As you know, when I started the adoption process six years ago, I had to ask Peyton to move out." Brooke started, and Haley nodded in confirmation, willing Brooke to continue.

"And as you remember, back then, we were all on very weird, very awkward terms…"

"Yeah, I like to forget my asshole behaviour towards Peyton back then, I worked _hard_ to get my friendship with her back, _believe me_…" Haley mused.

"Yeah, well I kind of took it to whole new levels…"

"Brooke…" Haley said, sternly again, having an idea what Brooke was about to say.

"Back then, Hales, all I could focus on was being a Mom, and you're a Mom so I spent a lot of time with you, and Lindsey was there too, and Peyton hated Lindsey, so as a result, Peyton and I kind of drifted apart. And I don't know that happened, Hales, I don't… I have absolutely no explanation as to why I treated Peyton the way I did, if I had an explanation I'd give it to you, but I don't, and I…" Brooke began to ramble, and Haley cut her off.

"Brooke, come on, what did you do?" Haley asked, her tone soft and motherly this time, willing Brooke to continue still.

"I was afraid to ask her to leave, and every time I built up the courage she'd stay out late with Mia, and the longer it went on, my fear turned to anger, but not anger at her, anger at myself, I just took it out on her…"

"Come on, you can tell me." Haley reached over and gave Brooke's hand a gentle squeeze.

"One night, she came home, and I had just found out that I was getting baby Angie to look after. I hadn't asked her to leave yet, and I just exploded. I basically told her she had two weeks to get out, and I gave her no explanation as to why."

"You did what?" Haley asked, slightly shocked.

"Don't judge yet, it gets worse… the two weeks ticked by and she hadn't found a place, and I didn't even consider why she hadn't , I just kept on getting increasingly angry because all I could focus on was getting this baby, I was so horrible to her that she'd resorted to sleeping in her office…her office Haley!" Brooke continued to explain, crying now. And Haley's heart Brooke, both at Brooke's pain now, and the fact that Peyton had resorted to sleeping in her office all those years ago. "Then one night, she came home and started to back suitcases and told me she was going to LA, and it hit me, I'd pushed her away, and suddenly I didn't feel angry any more, I felt sad that she was leaving, but like my fear when I'd asked her to leave, my sadness came out as anger, anger that I took out on her."

Haley nodded again.

"I started to yell at her about how apartments in Tree Hill are the same as the ones in LA, and then she broke down Haley…"

"Broke down about what, Brooke?" Haley asked softly.

"Please don't ever tell her I told you this, because she's so proud Haley, you know how proud she is…"

"I won't Brooke, I promise."

"She couldn't rent in Tree Hill because she couldn't afford it, Haley, she had nothing, and I mean, _nothing_, and I didn't even care, I just wanted her out, and I didn't care. When she went to LA, she went to live with Alistair…" Brooke finished.

"Oh my God, poor Peyton." Haley said, her heart wrenching for her friend.

Yes, the blonde had everything now, but it was kind of bitter sweet now, knowing that only six years earlier the blonde had been almost desolate. It had to be said though, that the blonde's success was outstanding considering that she'd built herself up from nothing.

"No wonder she doesn't trust me now! How could I have done that Haley? What kind of person can be that horrible and selfish?! Especially when I was supposed to be her best friend!" Brooke ranted, angry at herself again.

Haley's sighed and looked at Brooke with sad, yet motherly, eyes.

"Brooke, what you did to Peyton wasn't nice, and I'm not going to pretend like it was, but it was a mistake; a big, huge, enormous, mistake, but a _mistake_ all the same. You regret it now, and I know it's a little late, and that hindsight is a wonderful thing, but you regret it, and that makes you a good person. You'd only be a horrible and selfish person if you still didn't care now." Haley smiled softly.

"Why do I feel horrible and selfish then?" Brooke sighed sadly.

"Because you're a good person, and you want to make your mistake's right."

"I do want to make them right." Brooke nodded. "But I hurt her so bad, Haley, what if she never forgives me."

"Are you willing to wait until she does?" Haley asked.

"You know I am. I'll wait…forever if that's what it takes. I love her, Hales, you know that." Brooke replied.

"I know, I just wanted to hear you say it. And, you just answered your own question… she will forgive you, Brooke, you just have to be willing to wait as long as it takes. Also, prove to her that you're not going to let her down again, okay?" Haley smiled.

"Believe me, I'm trying." Brooke smiled, laughing slightly now.

Just as they finished talking, Brooke and Haley heard the first drops of rain hitting off of the windows.

"Oh God, I better get Ivy home before the storm really sets in. Thanks Haley, for understanding…about everything." Brooke said sincerely.

"Anytime, Brooke…I love you, girl." Haley smiled.

"I love you too, Hales." Brooke smiled. "Ivy, come on downstairs and get ready, we gotta get home, the storms starting!"

. . .

As Brooke and Ivy drove home, the storm set in rapidly, and now lightening was flashing across the dull sky, thunder was rumbling, and heavy rain was battering across the car's windshield.

Brooke didn't like storms, never had, but Ivy seemed to enjoy them, she found the sound of heavy rain relaxing, and thought that the lightening made the sky look pretty…the thunder, that didn't bother her either way.

Brooke mused that liking thunder storms was kind of dark, but it was just another trait that Ivy seemed to share with Peyton…

Driving along the road, they came to the bridge, the only bridge that gave them access to the side of town where they lived, only to see men in high visibility jackets and a police line blocking the entrance.

Brooke stopped the car and sighed, rolling down the window to talk to the police officer who approached the car.

"What's going on? I have to get across that bridge, there are no other roads to my house!" Brooke said, somewhat frustrated.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, there's been an accident…"

"An accident? The storm started _five_ minutes ago!"

"I'm sorry, it's pretty serious, it looks like the bridge is going to be closed for the rest of night." The office explained.

Brooke had a closer look onto the bridge where she saw one car hanging over the side, and rescue workers making their way down into the water, showing that another car had obviously gone into the water.

She wanted to get away from the bridge as soon as possible before Ivy noticed anything.

She sighed. "What am I supposed to do then?"

"There are some hotels near-by that you could stay in for the night, or you can park up and walk home, we've cordoned off a pedestrian walk way." The officer explained.

"It's not safe for cars but I'm gonna walk over? Yeah right!" Brooke said sarcastically. "Plus, it's pouring of rain and I have a five year old child!"

"I'm sorry Ma'am, there's nothing else we can do."

"Mommy, what's happening?" Ivy asked from the back seat.

"There's been an accident and we can't go over the bridge, so we can't get home." Brooke explained softly.

"Are we going to go back to Aunt Haley's?"

Brooke mulled it over, but the storm was getting worse by the minute and driving all the way back to Haley's was a little bit too risky.

"No baby, it's not safe enough."

"Well, Peyton's hotel is only just over there…" Ivy said, pointing out of the window. "Maybe we could go there, Mommy?"

Brooke bit her lip in question, she could easily check into another hotel, but this was an excuse to see the blonde. She smiled at the officer who was still standing outside of the car, then she pulled out her cell phone.

. . .

Peyton was sitting in her hotel room, going over a new contract… she'd had a successful meeting and signed a new band who'd be working out of the Tree Hill studio, she'd be staying in town for at least another month longer so she could work with them until Haley finished up teaching for the summer, and Alistair and Katie would be staying too so they could help, giving Peyton some free time to spend with Ivy…and Brooke.

Alistair and Katie hadn't attended the meeting though, both locked in their respective rooms, buried under their bed sheets, horrendously hungover.

Peyton had just filed the new contract away in a bag when her cell phone started to ring.

'_Brooke'_

She sighed and contemplated not answering, but Brooke had been good all day and hadn't texted or called because she knew that she needed space… and she knew that the silence was probably killing the usually impatient brunette, so she decided to do the mature thing and answer the phone.

Plus, silence and silly games weren't going to solve anything. They had to continue the way they were; friends working towards possibly, one day, being more, it was the only way she'd get over her issues… she'd decided on that while brooding for the majority of the day.

"Hey Brooke."

"_Hey Peyton, listen, I know it's a lot to ask, but there's been an accident on the bridge, and Ivy and I can't get home, the storm is really bad and it's not safe to drive all the way back to Haley's." _Brooke rambled.

"Wow, slow down, there's been an accident?" Peyton asked.

"_Peyton it's Tree Hill, there's always an accident when there's a storm. But the bridge is closed, and we can't get home. I know it's a lot to ask, but I know that you have two bedrooms in your hotel suite, and I was wondering if Ivy and I could crash with you for the night? Your hotel is only a two minute drive from where we are, and I don't want to drive too far because the storm is so bad…" _Brooke rambled again.

Peyton could hear the thunder outside, and the heavy rain battering off of the windows, the lightening lit up the sky, and she could hear the strong winds rustling through the trees.

It wasn't safe to drive far, that much was obvious.

"Brooke, of course you can, you didn't even have to ask. There's no way you're driving to Haley's in that weather, especially not with Ivy in the car." Peyton said softly.

"_Thank-you, Peyton!" Brooke said with relief. "I have pyjamas and a change of clothes for Ivy, I keep them in the car in case of emergencies or impromptu sleepovers, but I don't have…"_

"Brooke, I can give you pyjamas, I do have spares you know." Peyton laughed.

"_Peyton, you're a life saver! I'll be over in a few minutes, is that okay?"_

"Of course it is. I'll see you soon."

Brooke finished the phone call then turned to Ivy. "We're going to Peyton's, munchkin." Then she turned the car and they were on their way.

. . .

"Hi Drew!" Ivy waved, walking past the staff member who was always working on reception on the days she was at Peyton's hotel.

Peyton had gotten to know him during her stay at the hotel, so Ivy knew who he was through talking to him with her.

The man smiled and waved back. "Hi Ivy."

Brooke and Ivy took the elevator to Peyton's room, where the blonde was already waiting for them at the door.

"Well aren't you wet…" Peyton commented, looking at Brooke's drenched appearance; she'd given Ivy her jacket to put over her head as they didn't have an umbrella, allowing herself to be soaked by the heavy rain.

She sent the blonde an amused but sarcastic look, the blonde's deliberate double entendre not lost on her. "You're funny…"

"Hi Peyton, I missed you!" Ivy said happily, running over to Peyton, who picked her up.

"Dude, you saw me on Wednesday…"

"Yeah, but I didn't see you today yet." Ivy said in 'duh' tone.

"Very true. And for the record, I missed you, too."

"Did you miss Mommy?" Ivy asked, a mischievous glint in her eye that Peyton noticed.

Ivy knew exactly how to play them.

"I saw your Mommy yesterday." Peyton answered, mirroring Ivy's 'duh' tone, making a funny face at the little girl.

"Oh… Can I get ice-cream?"

Peyton laughed and shook her head.

That kid really was something else.

Putting Ivy down, the little girl ran into the room, and Peyton motioned into the room with her hand. "Come on in."

Brooke went to walk into the room and leaned in to whisper in Peyton's ear. "Since I'm so wet, you'll have to get me out of these clothes."

She'd just been beaten at her own game.

. . .

Peyton and Ivy chose food from room service that they could have for dinner, they chose pizza and fries, and ice cream sundaes, while Brooke got out of her wet clothes, had a shower, and changed into a pair of pyjamas that Peyton had given her.

Well, Brooke had chosen them…

She chose a pair of cotton shorts and a grey hoodie with the Red Bedroom Logo on it. Although Peyton was skinny, she was taller than Brooke so her clothes were always slightly big on the brunette, and Brooke wrapped her arms around herself, hugging Peyton's hoodie to her, it smelled like the blonde, and Brooke loved the feeling of it… she always did love wearing clothes that were Peyton's, there was something about it that made her feel content and safe.

Walking back into the living area, Brooke saw Ivy sitting on the couch watching Finding Nemo, while Peyton was fixing some drinks for them from the mini bar.

"I don't imagine you have a washer or drier in here, so is there somewhere I can hang my clothes up to dry?" Brooke asked, somewhat nervous.

"I can give you something to wear to go home tomorrow, Brooke, and you can give me them back whenever, I'm not exactly going anywhere." Peyton laughed softly.

"Thank-you Peyton, that would be great!" Brooke smiled. "And by the way…" She continued, reaching out to stroke her thumb over Peyton's cheek, "neither am I."

She walked away to hang her wet clothes up to dry somewhere, leaving Peyton to think about her words.

She knew what Brooke was trying to tell her; that she wasn't going to do again what she did six year ago…

. . .

Peyton lay awake in bed listening to the thunder and the rain while watching the lightening light up the room.

The storm had lulled Ivy to sleep pretty early, and Brooke had taken her into bed.

Brooke and Ivy were sleeping in the other bedroom in the hotel suite.

It was only ten thirty now, but Peyton was pretty tired, regardless of not being able to sleep.

She wasn't afraid of storms like Brooke was, she could sleep through them like Ivy could, it was her own thoughts keeping her awake.

A lot had changed in a few short weeks.

Not even two months ago her heart had ached for Brooke, her heart ached, and hurt, and longed, and craved, and now the brunette was asleep only a few feet away.

Life moved pretty quickly, she mused.

She was broken from her thoughts by a stream of light entering her room as Brooke pushed the door opened.

Brooke shuffled into the room quietly, shutting the door behind her, and stood by the left side of the bed.

Peyton looked up at her with tired eyes, and Brooke smiled softly as a flash of lightening lit up her face.

"I…the storm, it…I can't sleep." Brooke said meekly, fidgeting with her fingers.

When they were growing up, the only time Brooke ever felt safe in a storm was when she stayed at Peyton's and cuddled into her under the covers… she remembered when they were really young, Larry used to build them a fort out of bed sheets and pillow's and they used to 'hide' in there from the storm.

"Where's Ivy?" Peyton asked, tiredness evident in her voice.

"She's out like a light, star-fished across the bed." Brooke laughed softly.

Peyton smiled up at Brooke before shuffling over and pulling the sheets back so Brooke could get in.

Brooke smiled back before climbing into bed and pulling the sheets up around her neck.

Peyton turned around to try to get some sleep and Brooke did the same.

She was afraid to even try to cuddle into the blonde, but just being in the same bed as her was already making her feel better.

. . .

At around 1am, Brooke woke up with a start as a loud rumble of thunder disturbed her from her sleep.

She jumped as it happened again, the lightening continuously lighting up the room.

Peyton woke up at the feeling of Brooke jerking around in bed, and turn around to check if she was okay.

As the thunder continued, Brooke decided she needed to cuddle with Peyton, so she turned around, and was instantly face to face with the blonde.

And as if the world had stopped around them, the sound of the thunder disappeared, and without really thinking about what would happen tomorrow, the two women were kissing as the lightening continued to illuminate the room.

Peyton's hands instantly went to Brooke's face, holding her close, as the brunette deepened the kiss, slipping her tongue into Peyton's mouth.

Their kiss grew deeper as Brooke rolled them over until she was on top of Peyton, her hands sliding under her tank top to rest on her torso, as Peyton's hands continued to grip the side of Brooke's face.

As they kissed passionately, one of Peyton's hands slid behind Brooke's neck while the other slid under her hoodie, pulling it upwards.

Brooke pulled away and looked into Peyton's green eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Brooke, just…just, shh" Peyton answered, then pulled Brooke back in to kiss her again.

Brooke smiled into the kiss, and helped Peyton pull her hoodie up, exposing her naked breasts, then she sat back and pulled it over her head, discarding it somewhere in the room.

"Peyton…" Brooke started, but Peyton held a finger to her lips to shh her, then attached their lips again.

Brooke deepened their kiss again, this time pulling Peyton's tank top up, only breaking their kiss to pull it off, discarding it on the floor with her hoodie, leaving them both dressed in nothing but shorts.

"Peyton, you…" Brooke started.

Peyton tried to put her finger on her lips again, but Brooke stopped her.

"Stopped shh-ing me. You are so beautiful, do you know that?"

"Brooke, just shut up and kiss me."

Brooke smiled, and once again leaned down to passionately kiss the blonde beneath her.

She moved her head and began to kiss a trail from behind Peyton's ear, down her neck, across her collar bone, down the valley between her breasts, and over her torso, to the waist band of her shorts, throwing the bed sheets to the ground in the process.

Peyton closed her eyes in contentment.

She knew that sleeping with Brooke so early on probably wasn't the wisest of ideas, but she couldn't bring herself to care, it just felt so right.

Brooke kissed her way back up Peyton's body until she got to her breasts, then she kissed a circle around each one, before peppering kisses over them, eventually stopping on her right nipple.

She looked up to see Peyton's eyes closed, a soft smile on her face. So she leaned up and quickly kissed her lips, before dipping her head again, taking her nipple into her mouth.

Peyton gasped as she felt the warmth around her nipple, smiling as she felt the softness of Brooke's tongue swirling over it.

She sighed in contentment, then she let out a small moan and arched her back as Brooke began to gently suck on the small, rosy, bud.

After showing the other nipple the same attention, Brooke kissed Peyton's lips again, Peyton deepening the kiss this time, her hand tangling in Brooke's hair to hold her close.

Brooke pulled away from the kiss, keeping her mouth so close to Peyton's that they were practically exchanging breath.

They looked into each other's eyes, Brooke making sure that there were no signs of hesitation in Peyton's eyes…there were none.

Brooke let her hand travel down Peyton's body; over her breasts, over the expanse of her torso, and finally down inside her pyjama shorts, to her naked centre.

As her hand touched between Peyton's legs, Brooke let her head fall onto Peyton's shoulder with a small moan, the blonde letting out a similar strangled sound.

Brooke kissed Peyton again then pulled away, looking into her eyes again. "I love you."

"I love you too…" Peyton answered, half of it coming out as a gasp when she felt Brooke's fingers push into her, as lightening once again lit up the room.

Attaching their lips again for a passionate kiss, Brooke began to move her fingers in and out of Peyton, the blonde moving her hips to match Brooke thrust for thrust.

It was a quick build up, she'd been waiting to feel Brooke again for six years, and it didn't long for Brooke's fingers to feel amazing.

"Oh Brooke, oh Brooke…" Peyton moaned over and over, and Brooke rested her head against Peyton's as she kept going.

"You okay, baby?"

"I haven't been this good for years." Peyton answered, and Brooke smiled before pressing another kiss to her lips, then she proceeded to kiss lower, over her body.

She removed her fingers from Peyton, earning a whimper of disappointment, then she pulled the blondes shorts down over her long legs, leaving her naked beneath her.

Brooke scanned Peyton's body as the lightening lit it up. It was breathtakingly beautiful and Brooke wondered how she'd managed to forget just how beautiful it was.

She knelt between her legs, then leaned in to kiss her centre.

The feel, the smell, the taste, of Peyton's centre was something that Brooke had craved for six years, and having it now was making her head spin. She'd imagined this moment in her head countless times over the years, but the real thing was making her fantasies pale in comparison.

The real thing was, amazing, exhilarating, mind blowing, and the moan she received when she let her tongue disappear inside of the blonde was more than she could have ever imagined.

She licked upwards and flicked her tongue over Peyton's clit, sliding her fingers back into her again, and before long, Peyton was moaning, shaking, and writing beneath her.

When Peyton recovered, Brooke sat up and pressed her lips against Peyton's again, then rested her head against her forehead, Peyton's hand's coming up to hold the side of her face again.

"I love you." Brooke whispered, and Peyton smiled dreamily.

The next thing Brooke knew, she was on her back, and Peyton was kissing her all over her body.

And the last thing she thought about was that she didn't care about the storm anymore, before she felt Peyton's head between her legs.

* * *

**Reviews, they rock!**


	13. Morning After

Peyton woke up at 9am, the storm was over and the morning light instantly hurt her eyes the second she opened them; that harsh, bright, light you only get when sunlight hits a rain covered surface.

Squinting, she closed her eyes again and rolled over in search of Brooke's warm body to bury her face in.

But as she rolled over, all she felt was cold bed sheets.

Brooke wasn't there.

Trailing her naked body out of bed, she threw her robe on and walked out into the living area.

Considering the time, Brooke was probably already up with Ivy.

But the TV was off and the living area was empty.

Venturing into the second bedroom, hoping to find Brooke and Ivy in there, Peyton felt her stomach drop as she found out that the second bedroom was also empty.

Brooke and Ivy weren't in the hotel room.

Like before, Brooke was gone.

Peyton walked backwards, trying to process everything that had happened, until her legs hit the couch and she fell back onto the plush piece of furniture.

How could this be happening again?

Especially when she'd built such an amazing relationship with Ivy!

Had Brooke even considered that?!

As she thought about everything, Peyton didn't realise she was crying until she felt the tears gather around her chin and drip down onto her neck.

There was no way Brooke Davis could be taking a part of her… again!

"Good morning sleepy, curly head, face!"

Peyton was broken from her thoughts by Ivy's loud greeting then the little girls retreating form as she ran into the second bedroom and proceeded to jump on the bed.

Peyton looked up and saw Brooke standing there with four cups of coffee in a holder, and a bag of breakfast bagels, and utterly confused look on her face.

"Brooke, you're here." Peyton said happily through her tears, a smile on her tear stained face.

"Peyton, what's wrong?" Brooke said, setting the coffee and food down on the nearest table and rushing over to the blonde's side.

Peyton could only smile.

"Oh my God… you thought I had gone again." Brooke said, realisation hitting her.

Peyton just looked at her with sad eyes.

"Baby no, I was out getting breakfast. Don't cry." Brooke said softly, wiping Peyton's tears away with the pad of her thumbs.

"I…I just panicked." Peyton exclaimed.

Brooke tilted her head at the blonde.

She understood why she panicked, but she obviously hadn't checked her phone.

"You haven't checked your phone this morning have you, or noticed that your key card was gone?" Brooke laughed softly.

"My phone… no, I haven't."

"I texted you to tell you where we'd gone. The bridge is open again so we went home to shower and change, then we picked up food for breakfast." Brooke smiled.

"I…"

"Baby, listen to me, I won't make the same mistakes I did six years ago, not a chance in hell. So don't worry. I know it's hard, but please trust me. I love you, I more than love you, just… trust me." Brooke said, taking Peyton's hands in hers, her voice laced with sincerity.

"I do trust you." Peyton nodded.

"You don't, yet, or you wouldn't have panicked. But it's okay, it's a process. I'm not going _anywhere, _so I'll prove to you that you can trust me."

"I love you, Brooke." Peyton said, her voice watery from imminent tears.

"I love you too, P Sawyer."

Brooke pulled Peyton in and kissed her hard on the mouth, and Peyton giggled slightly through their kiss.

They were disturbed from the hotel room door opening.

"Brooke, where's the grub, I am _famished_?"

They looked up to see Alistair and Katie standing in the door way, their hair dishevelled, still dressed in the pyjama's they'd very clearly put on after Tric two nights earlier and worn as they suffered through their hangovers the day before.

"Oh wow, aren't you two the picture of attractiveness." Peyton laughed.

"I haven't eaten since Friday evening, I have the munchies bigger than a hard-core stoner. Show me the grub!" Alistair said, picking up the bag and coffee's Brooke had set down on a table moments earlier, and making his way to the dining table, Katie following.

"I stopped at their rooms on the way out to see if they wanted anything…" Brooke explained, and Peyton nodded before standing up to go join her friends at the table.

"Ivy, come get your breakfast!" Brooke called, then she and the little girl sat down too to enjoy their breakfast.

"We called you last night to have a hangover sleepover, but you didn't answer your phone." Katie said to Peyton, and Brooke laughed.

"Yeah, Peyton isn't good at checking her phone."

Peyton stuck her tongue out at the brunette, who pulled her in for a quick kiss.

"This is new." Alistair said, making a motion towards them with his hand.

"No it's not, they've kissed lots, I saw them." Ivy said absentmindedly, pulling the bacon out of her breakfast bagel then rebuilding it.

"Really….?" Katie said, interest evident in her voice.

"Ivy…" Brooke said, her tone somewhat of a warning.

"Well it's true..." Ivy said, her little attitude shining through.

"It's new." Peyton said.

"Peyton you shouldn't tell lies…" Ivy said, taking a drink from her juice box.

"That's enough from you, Tiny." Peyton laughed.

"You're tinier." Ivy argued.

"Am not!"

"You're tiny for an adult!" Ivy retaliated.

"Again, am not!"

"Okay, okay, everyone's tiny. But we need to talk about this." Katie laughed, signalling to Brooke and Peyton like Alistair did moments earlier.

"There's nothing to say really. I mean, it is what it is." Peyton said, and Brooke took her hand.

"Yeah... but what is it?" Alistair asked.

"They're kind of like…a mommy and daddy." Ivy answered and all eyes fell on her.

"How's that exactly?" Alistair asked curiously, and Brooke held her breath for what was about to come.

She knew it would be interesting.

"Well…Mommy's and Daddy's sleep in the same bed, like Aunt Haley and Uncle Nathan. And I waked up really early this morning, and Mommy wasn't sleeping beside me, so I went to see where she was and she was sleeping in Peyton's bed. Also, Mommy's and Daddy's kiss." Ivy explained innocently, taking a drink from her juice box again.

Brooke and Peyton had both gone red and were looking down at their food, hoping the moment would just pass.

"Well, take from that what you will!" Katie laughed in amusement, looking at Alistair.

"Slept in the same bed, huh?" Alistair laughed.

"We…" Brooke began.

"You did, Mommy." Ivy said.

"Okay, you, eat you're breakfast and be quiet, Lady Big Mouth." Brooke said to Ivy, who just shrugged and started eating again.

Meanwhile, Alistair was eyeing up Peyton's appearance.

"Wait a minute, Sawyer, what _do _you have on under that robe?... nothing I presume."

"Al…"

"I've seen your ass plenty of times before, I have no qualms about checking to see if its underwear covered now." He joked.

"Alistair please, five year old ears in the room!" Brooke exclaimed.

"_Big_ five year old ears…" Ivy commented.

"Ivy!"

"You two got nasty though, didn't you?" Alistair smirked.

"Okay, yes, yes we did. _Now would you just eat!" _Peyton said, effectively putting an end to the conversation.

. . .

"But I'm scared to do the monkey bars. What if I fall?" Ivy said, looking up at the monkey bars in the play area at the park, Peyton standing beside her.

"You won't learn if you don't try. Didn't you fall off your bike a few times when you learned?" Peyton asked.

"Yeah… I just learned to ride my bike a little while ago, but I had a helmet, and knee pads for that." Ivy replied.

"Okay, I'll tell you what. For every bar that you get to I'll give you ten dollars." Peyton reasoned.

Ivy looked up again and counted the bars.

"That's like…" She started, counting on her fingers, "100 dollars!"

"Exactly, so you gonna do it?"

Ivy put her hand on her chin, a thoughtful look on her face.

"I will if you show me how to do it first."

"Ivy I'm an adult, my feet will touch the ground." Peyton tried to reason.

"No they won't, it's high…"

"You seriously want me to show you?" Peyton asked seriously.

"Will I still get my money?" Ivy asked thoughtfully.

"Yes, dork, you'll still get your money."

"Okay then, yes."

Peyton took a deep breath, then climbed up the ladders and onto the platform, much to the displeasure of the other parents in the park.

Once up there, she realised that it was pretty high and that her feet would not, in fact, touch the ground.

"P Sawyer, what are you doing?" Brooke laughed, walking over to stand next to Ivy.

"Teaching little chicken there how to do the monkey bars." Peyton explained, moving onto the first bar, then onto the second.

"You go baby, I'll catch you at the other side." Brooke laughed loudly, jumping up and down and clapping.

As Peyton was half way over, Brooke pulled out her phone and snapped a shot of Peyton swinging from one bar to the other.

By the time Peyton was done, Brooke was laughing hysterically while Ivy was still watching intently.

"I thought you were going to catch me at the end?" Peyton pouted, and Brooke pulled her in for a kiss.

"I was too busy watching your ass." She whispered.

"My turn!" Ivy exclaimed, and Brooke and Peyton pulled apart as she climbed up the ladders.

"Peyton will you spot me?" She asked quietly, as she reached up to hold onto the first set of bars, nervousness evident in her voice.

Then she began to move across the bars with words of encouragement from Brooke and Peyton.

"You can do it Sweetie!"

"Mommy I'm almost done!" Ivy said with excitement, with only two bars to go.

"Two more bars sweetie and you'll have more money than Uncle Skills." Brooke laughed.

At the ninth bar, the little girl began to panic and kick her legs.

"I'm scared, please get me down, Peyton!"

Peyton lifted her down and ivy settled in her arms.

"So that means I get…90 dollars?"

"Technically yes, but I'll give you the extra ten dollars too, just for effort.

"Yesss!"

. . .

"Well she is officially tired out tonight." Brooke laughed, walking out of Ivy's room, closing the door behind her.

Peyton was sitting on the couch.

"She was asking if you'd be here when she woke up." Brooke said, sitting down next to her.

"Oh… What, what did you say?"

"I said maybe."

Peyton nodded.

"Do… do you want to stay the night?" Brooke asked, somewhat nervously.

"I don't know, Brooke."

"Peyt, if you want to talk about what happened last night then you can." Brooke smiled.

Peyton sighed.

"I don't want to put a label on things Brooke, not yet anyway. I mean, I love you, you know I do, but you were right about what you said about me trusting you. I don't, quite, yet. I will, it's just going to take some time."

"I know, and that's alright. But how can you learn to trust me if you don't put yourself out there with me?"

"Pretty sure I was very much _out there _with you last night when I was naked in your arms." Peyton laughed slightly.

"Well yeah, and step two would be to do that some more." Brooke laughed back.

"I know." Peyton nodded. "But Brooke, I'll be going back to LA in about six weeks."

Brooke sighed. "I know, but I was hoping that when you did you would come back sometimes, and that Ivy and I could come visit at school vacations? We could make it work." Brooke suggested.

In truth, she didn't want Peyton to go back, but Peyton just said she was going, so Brooke didn't want to rock the boat and go too fast too quickly when things were just getting good.

"I'd like that." Peyton smiled, reaching over to take Brooke's hand. "And I did buy that apartment so I could come visit."

"Exactly!" Brooke grinned.

But if Peyton was being honest with herself, the prospect of going back to LA was getting more depressing every day. And she was aware of the irony considering only two months earlier she wouldn't even have considered stepping foot back in Tree Hill for all the tea in china.

But the fact that Brooke had already worked out a plan for when she went back had Peyton too afraid to tell her the truth. She didn't want to go too fast, especially when she'd just told Brooke she didn't even trust her yet… talk about mixed messages. Plus, the trust thing had her scared that Brooke would be easily spooked.

"See, you know it's going to work. So why don't you start working on that trusting me thing by spending the night?" Brooke suggested.

Peyton sighed with a smile on her face.

"Okay, but no sex."

"Yeah, good luck with that, Blondie…" Brooke husked, pulling Peyton in and automatically attaching her lips to the blonde's neck.

Peyton giggled as she allowed Brooke to lower her onto her back on the couch.

* * *

**Reviews, you know the drill!**


	14. You're Leaving

**Apologies for the delay, I have so many plot bunnies bouncing around that an update for this story took a while…**

* * *

"I want that one over there and that other one over there in the corner…" Brooke instructed, directing the furniture delivery men around Peyton's new apartment.

Peyton had gotten the keys a day earlier and it was no pretty much fully furnished.

Peyton was hanging paintings while Brooke was being bossy and Ivy was exploring.

"Peyton, this is the coolest apartment, _ever!_" Ivy exclaimed, wandering out of one of the bedrooms. "Can Jamie, me, and Lydia have a sleepover here when I'm on break from school?"

"Well honey, by the time you're on break I'll be back in LA…" Peyton answered, smiling softly.

"I thought you didn't go back to LA until after I was on break?" Ivy asked.

"I was supposed to, but I have to go back in three weeks now."

"What?!" Came the loud exclamation from Brooke.

"Brooke, you know I'm going back…" Peyton furrowed her brows.

"You told me six weeks, Peyton!" Brooke huffed, turning on her heels and walking out of the front door.

Ivy just turned to Peyton and furrowed her little eyebrows, and Peyton shrugged her shoulders in response.

. . .

"Okay, what happened?" Haley sighed, sitting back in her chair in her kitchen, facing Peyton.

"Okay, last week I told her I'd be here at least another six weeks, then we had that meeting yesterday, and I was afraid to tell her that I'd actually be going back to LA in three weeks, so I casually just dropped it into a conversation I was having with Ivy, and now she's mad at me." Peyton explained.

"Peyton, you should have told her yesterday, she's probably mad because you decided to tell her five year old daughter first!" Haley reprimanded.

"I know, it was stupid, but in my mind I was doing the right thing. She knew I was going to go back eventually anyway!" Peyton reasoned.

"Then why didn't you want to tell her?"

Peyton sighed. "I… I don't know, I was just scared that she was going to get mad… and she did."

"Yeah, because you told Ivy!"

"I know…"

The next thing they heard was the front door opening and little footsteps running into the kitchen.

"Hi Aunt Haley I'm here for my sleepover… Peyton, you're here!" Ivy smiled.

"Sure am, tiny."

"I'm sorry I had to go earlier, I didn't want to, but I couldn't really stay when my mommy lifted me up." Ivy explained innocently.

Peyton went to reply when Brooke walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, you're here…" Brooke repeated Ivy's words, but in a bitter tone of voice.

"Brooke, come on!" Peyton exclaimed, standing up from her chair and moving to stand in front of Brooke.

"Haley I'm sorry, I can't stay, I have things to do." Brooke commented, moving to walk away, but Peyton reached out and stopped her.

"I know you don't have things to do because we were supposed to have a date. So no, you can't stay long, because we are going out to dinner and we are going to talk." Peyton said adamantly. "Hales, we'll get Brooke's car later."

Then Peyton led Brooke out to the car, determined that they were going to talk.

. . .

"So…?" Peyton said from her spot at the table in the restaurant, while Brooke sat opposite her with her arms folded and a scowl on her face. "Okay, fine, don't talk…"

Brooke moved her food around her plate a little before sighing. "You lied to me…"

"I did not lie Brooke, I found out yesterday." Peyton replied.

"Well you could have told me!"

"I was going to!" Peyton sighed, "Brooke the Tree Hill office is profitable again, we have bands recording as of Monday, and I'm needed back in LA; there's no reason for me to stay here now…" Peyton started, but Brooke stood up and began to storm away.

"Brooke, that's not what I meant! You're a reason for me to stay, but I have to work; I'm staying the extra three weeks to spend time with you and Ivy!"

Brooke stopped, shook her head, and went to walk away again.

"You know what Brooke, no, you don't get to walk away from me! You begged me to give you a second chance, and look at that, we lasted all of about what a week and you're walking away _again_! So you don't get to walk away from me this time. You want to be mad at me for going back to LA? Fine! But I don't hear you asking me to stay!" Peyton huffed, throwing cash onto the table to pay their bill, before grabbing her purse and pushing past Brooke. "You can get a cab home."

Brooke closed her eyes and sighed, before calling a cab from her cell phone.

. . .

It was just after midnight when Peyton heard the loud banging on the front door of her apartment.

Running her hands through her sleep dishevelled hair, she opened the door to see a very annoyed Brooke standing at the other side.

"Brooke it's late…"

"Peyton, I love you!" Brooke exclaimed, barging into Peyton's apartment, as if that would explain and fix everything.

"Brooke you knew that I was going back, I don't know why you're so mad about losing three weeks, I'll be back as soon as I can!"

"I'm mad because… because…" Brooke wanted to yell at her to stay, but in that moment, the words wouldn't come. "I'm mad because I'm going to miss you, okay?!"

Peyton sighed softly, then gently pulled Brooke in for a soft kiss. "Brooke, I love you, and I am going to miss you too, and Ivy, but I'll be back before you know it, okay."

"I know, it just sucks…" Brooke sighed.

"We'll get through it." Peyton smiled, pressing another quick kiss to Brooke's lips.

* * *

**This is the beginning of the end for this story. **

**Next chapter: Three weeks later…**


	15. Chapter 15

**3 weeks later…**

"So when I finish school tomorrow, its summer vacation, and Mommy said we can go see the sun bears again. I'm so excited!" Ivy rambled, jumping up and down on the spot, on the couch in Peyton's apartment.

Peyton was sitting on the couch, Brooke sitting on her lap, and Alistair and Katie where sitting on the arm chairs.

"Do you enjoy jumping on my furniture, by the way?" Peyton raised an eyebrow at the five year old. "In the hotel, in here, in the office, you just jump all over everything. You don't do that at home."

"Because Mommy said I'm not allowed to jump on the furniture at home; but she said that yours is fair game because she doesn't own it." Ivy said, continuing to jump. "Plus, your furniture is jumpy."

"Jumpy, huh?" Peyton laughed, looking up at Brooke with an eyebrow still raised, and Brooke simply raised her hands in surrender.

"So… will I see you over summer vacation?" Ivy said, flopping into a sitting position on the couch.

"I don't know, Sweetie, I'll have to see how my schedule looks when I go back to LA tomorrow." Peyton said, smiling softly at the little girl.

"Awww, what about you Katie, will I see you and Alistair?"

"No, little one, we have work to back in LA, but we'll see you real soon, okay?" Katie smiled.

When Peyton moved into the apartment, Alistair and Katie moved in too for the rest of their stay in Tree Hill, and since Brooke and Ivy had spent most of their time there, Ivy had built up a good relationship with Katie and Alistair; so much so that she'd opted to sleep in a room with Katie, allowing Brooke and Peyton to have their 'alone time' at night.

Brooke and Alistair had also completely settled their differences, and everything was going well.

"I'll tell you want, Munchkin; if Peyton has a free few weeks over the summer, we'll take a trip to LA, deal?" Brooke smiled, and Ivy grinned widely, before her face dropped into a sad look.

"Will I see you tomorrow before you leave, Peyton?" Ivy asked, with puppy dog eyes.

"Yeah, Tiny, you'll see me, I don't have to leave for the airport until eight in the evening." Peyton smiled.

Ivy smiled, then stood up and went to sit on the arm chair with Katie.

"Katie, I want to sleep in with Mommy and Peyton tonight, okay?"

And Brooke and Peyton looked at each other with wide eyes.

Tonight's 'alone time' had to last them until as far away as Christmas, and now they might not even get it.

"Hey Ivy, why don't we watch a movie before you go to bed; just me, you, and Alistair? Since we'll miss you when we go." Katie suggested, and Brooke and Peyton sent her a thankful look.

"But Peyton will miss me, too." Ivy said, thoughtfully.

"But you get to hang with Peyton _all night_." Katie pointed out, and Ivy smiled.

"Okay, deal. I'll pick the movie, and you and Alistair go get us some snacks." Ivy said, jumping off of Katie's lap and motioning for her and Alistair to follow her.

"I knew those two would come in handy for something." Brooke whispered in Peyton's ear, giggling.

"I know, huh. Come on, I've got a king size bed in there that won't see any action for God knows how long; let's go give it some memories." Peyton replied, her voice low and somewhat seductive.

"Mmm, try and stop me." Brooke grinned, grabbing Peyton's hand and pulling her into the bedroom as fast as she could.

. . .

The next day, it all became very real.

Peyton was leaving.

They'd spent the previous night making love, then cuddled together as a family when Ivy eventually became too tired to watch movies with Katie and Alistair.

That morning, they'd made love even more when Katie volunteered to take Ivy to school.

Then Brooke helped Peyton pack for her journey back home.

But that was the problem; LA wasn't home anymore, Tree Hill was home, and it wasn't lost on her that only a few months earlier, Tree Hill was the last place on earth that she wanted to be.

She'd gone from being afraid of Brooke, to taking it slow with Brooke, to eventually trusting Brooke with her life.

It had taken time, but she was confident in Brooke's love for her now, and she didn't want to leave her.

Or Ivy; she knew that it was fast, and she didn't even know how Brooke would feel about it; but she felt like Ivy was her daughter, and leaving the little girl was just as hard as leaving Brooke.

But Brooke was always someone who spoke her mind, and if she wanted her to stay, she would have said so by now.

They'd picked Ivy up from school, and went for a family dinner on the boardwalk, and now Peyton, Katie, and Alistair, were all packed up and ready to head to the airport.

They'd said goodbye to the rest of the gang earlier, and now the only people left to say goodbye to were Brooke and Ivy, who were there to see them off.

They were standing outside the apartment block, with the taxi waiting outside.

"Okay Ivy, you have the maps; there's treasure hidden somewhere in the apartment and somewhere in the office. When you find it, you Face-time Katie or me, immediately, we'll be waiting for your call." Alistair said, his tone jokingly business like, extending his hand to Ivy, who shook it with a giggle.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr Clarke." Ivy laughed.

Alistair then said goodbye to Brooke, and Katie did the same, before she and Alistair put all of the suitcases into the cab, allowing Peyton to say goodbye to her girls.

"Okay, madam." Peyton started, picking Ivy up and resting her on her hip. "I'll Face-time you every day, so you better answer. And I'll visit the first chance I get if you don't manage to come out to LA through the summer, okay?" Peyton finished, and Ivy nodded with a grin.

"I can't wait to see you again, Peyton; meeting you has been the best time of my _whole _life." Ivy said sweetly, and Peyton felt a lump forming in her throat.

"Your whole life, huh?" Peyton smiled, trying to hold in her tears. "Meeting you has been the best time of my whole life, too."

"I'll miss you_, tiny_." Ivy grinned. "But, I'll let you say goodbye to Mommy, now."

Peyton went to reply, till Ivy spoke again. "I love you; I'm going to miss having my Mama Peyton around."

Then Peyton couldn't hold it in any longer and let the tears roll down her cheeks.

She put Ivy down and instantly tried to wipe the tears away with her fingers. "I love you too, Tiny."

And as Brooke watched the interaction between the love of her life and her daughter, she wanted to smile and cry at the same time.

She didn't want Peyton to leave, she wanted her to stay and raise Ivy with her; she knew that Peyton would be around sometimes, because they were doing the long distance thing, but it wasn't the same as Peyton being there to raise their family full time.

But she knew that Peyton had to work, and she understood that, having once had a huge company herself.

But she hoped that one day Peyton would be able to re-locate back home permanently.

Ivy went to help Alistair and Katie load the taxi, allowing Brooke and Peyton to say goodbye.

But they didn't know what to say; how do you say goodbye to the person you never want to be apart from?

So Peyton did the only thing that she could think of; she grabbed Brooke by her shirt and fused their lips in a passionate kiss.

Their tongues met immediately in a deep kiss, savoring the moment.

Their hands roamed, knowing Ivy wasn't watching, taking one last touch of the parts of the other that they would miss the most; those parts being mostly below the neck, and between the legs.

"Okay okay, stop it or I'll never leave." Peyton giggled, pulling away when their kiss was getting kind of hot and heavy.

"Maybe I'll keep going then." Brooke grinned, before planting one last kiss to Peyton's lips, then pulling her in for a tight hug.

"I love you so much." Brooke whispered, and Peyton nodded. "I've loved you forever; I've loved you through the past six years, I love you now even more than I ever have…if that's even possible, and I will love you for the rest of my life. I just wanted to tell you that before you go."

Peyton pulled away and held Brooke at arms-length, the tears falling from her eyes again. "Only a few short months ago, I couldn't even face coming back here. I couldn't face you, or my past here, or my love for you. But I came back; and you changed it all. I love you, and I love that little girl over there, and now; Tree Hill holds nothing but happiness for me." Peyton smiled.

"Then don't wait too long to come back."

"I won't; especially when the love of my life and my little girl are here." Peyton smiled softly, hoping Brooke would react well to her calling Ivy hers.

"_Your_ little girl?" Brooke smiled wide.

"Well…yeah; if that's okay?" Peyton said carefully.

"It's more than okay; her names not Sawyer for the hell of it." Brooke answered with a wide smile, and Peyton grinned.

Suddenly the taxi beeped, and Peyton knew that she had to go.

"So, here are the keys to the apartment, and the keys to the Comet. Treat them well." Peyton laughed, handing Brooke her keys.

"The Comet's mine again_. Yessss_! Brooke laughed. "You sure you trust me with these?"

But she stopped laughing when she saw the serious but loving look on Peyton's face. "Brooke Davis; I trust you, with _everything_."

And Brooke knew exactly what that meant.

She remembered their conversation weeks earlier when she said that Peyton didn't trust her yet, and Peyton told her it'd take time.

That wait was over and Peyton was letting her know; she finally trusted her.

"I love you." Was all Brooke could say as she pulled Peyton in for another passionate kiss. "And when I Face-time you late at night, I want you in your best panties, or better yet; no panties at all...I still need's me some pussy time."

Then in a blur, she had Ivy in her arms and Peyton was waving goodbye to them out of the window of the taxi.

. . .

"Then old Mrs Rabbit took her basket and umbrella, and went through the wood to the bakers." Brooke read to Ivy, as she lay next to her in her little bed, the lump in her throat evident in her voice as she tried to hold in her tears.

After Peyton left, they went home to their own house, and Ivy was now tucked up in bed and Brooke was reading her favourite story; The Tale of Peter Rabbit.

Peyton had only left just under one hour ago, and Brooke was trying her best to take her mind off of it, albeit failing.

"She bought a loaf of brown bread and five currant buns." Brooke continued to read, but Ivy could hear the sadness in her voice.

Plus the little girl wasn't really in the mood for reading either; she'd grown accustom to Peyton reading her bedtime stories.

"Mommy, stop reading."

"What?" Brooke questioned, setting the book down on her lap.

"I watched this show once, where a girl was going away on an airplane, but the boy followed her to the airport because he didn't want her to get on it…" Ivy said, her voice somewhat thoughtful.

"Are you talking about Friends?" Brooke giggled slightly.

"Yeah. But the guy didn't see the girl, so he called her instead, and she didn't go on the plane and came home instead…" Ivy explained, and Brooke nodded.

"What's going on in that head of yours, Ivy Sawyer Davis?" Brooke asked, already knowing, and liking, Ivy's train of thought.

"I didn't want Peyton to go back to LA, Mommy." She sighed sadly.

"Me neither, baby girl, me neither." Brooke said, lifting Ivy into her arms.

"You love Peyton, right?" Ivy asked, looking up at Brooke.

"I do, Sweetie. I want her to be your Mommy, too, one day, and I know she want's that too." Brooke smiled softly.

"I want Peyton to be my Mommy, too...but I'd call her Mama." Ivy sighed. "So if you love her, then why don't you go to the airport and tell her not to go on the plane?"

"Ivy, she has to work…" Brooke said sadly.

"But Katie can do it. Katie did Peyton's work here so Peyton could spend time with us; Peyton only had to go to work sometimes to show Katie how to do stuff, so why can't Peyton live here and only go to LA sometimes?" Ivy said, and Brooke started to think.

Ivy was right.

Peyton living here wasn't impossible.

And when she thought about, she hadn't even asked Peyton to stay in the first place.

And suddenly, and old, familiar, feeling came over her.

She was throwing away an opportunity again.

She was letting Peyton go, again.

And she wasn't about to let history repeat itself; she had to at least try!

"Ivy, get up and put your jeans and rainbow striped t-shirt on; we're going to the airport." Brooke said with enthusiasm, earning a yell of excitement from Ivy, as Brooke went into her own bedroom and pulled out two weekend suitcases.

"Are we going to LA?!" Ivy asked excitedly, already dressed and tying up the laces on her converse, when Brooke walked back into the room with a suitcase to pack Ivy's clothes.

"Maybe; if Peyton's already gone, we're following her to LA." Brooke said, already pulling shorts, and t-shirts, and dresses, out of Ivy's closet and quickly folding them into the suitcase. She threw in a few pairs of shoes, pyjamas, socks, and some underwear, and told Ivy to zip the case up then put on her light zip-through hoodie, while she went to her bedroom to quickly pack her own suitcase.

They were out the door and in a taxi less than twenty minutes later.

. . .

"Are you okay?" Alistair asked tentatively, rubbing Peyton's shoulder, as they sat in the departure lounge waiting for their flight to be called.

Alistair and Katie were sat at either side of a very emotional Peyton, providing moral support.

Peyton took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with her fingers. "I didn't realise this was going to be so damn hard."

Alistair and Katie smiled softly.

"I know, Sweetie, but of course it's going to be hard; it's your girl and your kid." Katie said.

"My kid; she is my kid, huh?" Peyton said, smiling softly through her tears.

"Well something tells me that you and Brooke are forever; so yeah, you have a kid, Dude." Alistair laughed, smiling.

Peyton was thinking about Brooke and Ivy when she heard a little voice echoing through departures.

"Peyton!...Peyton!"

Peyton furrowed her brows; it couldn't be that she missed the kid so damn much that she was already hearing her little voice in her head.

Then she heard it again.

"Tiny! Tiny where are you?"

Then she realised that she wasn't imagining it.

So she got up and began to look around the room.

"Ivy?!" She called, looking around, and then she saw the little girl running towards her; the bouncy blonde curls and the rainbow striped t-shirt.

"Ivy!"

Ivy ran to Peyton and jumped into her arms, and Peyton hugged the little girl into her, kissing the side of her head.

"Ivy what are you doing here? Where is your Mom?"

"Peyton, please don't go on the plane!" Ivy said, nuzzling her face into Peyton's neck. "Please don't go."

"Ivy, where's your Mom?" Peyton asked again, until she heard Brooke's voice.

"Please don't go, baby, please stay with us."

Peyton looked up to see Brooke standing there with hope in her teary hazel eyes.

Peyton looked at the woman in front of her and the little girl in her arms, and she smiled.

It was everything she'd ever wanted.

And Brooke following her to the airport was the icing on the cake.

"Please don't go." Ivy said, tears pooling in her little hazel eye's too. "We love you too much…Mama."

"Okay…" Peyton whispered simply, and Brooke and Ivy's eyes lit up.

By this time, Alistair and Katie had stood up to listen to what was going on.

"Okay?" Brooke clarified with a bright smile on her face.

"I mean, I'll have to go to LA for two or three weeks, someone's got to train these two knuckleheads how to run the LA office." Peyton started, pointing to Alistair and Katie, who almost wet themselves with excitement upon hearing that they would soon be running the office in LA. "But since it's summer vacation, you two could come with me and spend some time in LA, then we can come home together?" Peyton suggested in a hopeful voice.

"We do have tickets for this flight in case we had to follow you to LA…" Brooke started, "But I only packed enough clothes for a weekend…" Brooke said in her innocent voice, and Peyton laughed.

She knew that Brooke wasn't trying to make an excuse not to go to LA, her motive was much simpler than that.

"I'll take you and Ivy shopping." Peyton laughed, and Brooke and Ivy high five'd in excitement.

"Then I guess we're taking a trip to LA." Brooke said to Ivy, and Ivy cuddled into Peyton again just as their flight was being called.

Brooke typed a quick text to Haley to let her know that she and Ivy were going to LA with Peyton for a few weeks then Peyton was moving home, which earned an excited reply from Haley. Then she put her arm around Peyton's waist, letting her hand brush Peyton's ass now and again, as they walked through the gate and onto the plane, now cemented as a proper family.

* * *

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**2 chapters and an epilogue left :O**


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